


Für Immer Deins (Trans Male!Reader x Blitzwing)

by chrisnightmare



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-08 11:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 30,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrisnightmare/pseuds/chrisnightmare
Summary: Despite what others might believe, you knew deep down it wasn't the end.They were out there; you would find them.All you had to do was look.(Part 2 in the Fur Immer Meins series)
Relationships: Blitzwing/Reader
Comments: 70
Kudos: 33





	1. Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the sequel of Für Immer Meins! If you haven't read that one yet, you definitely should!  
Thank you ♥️

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  


-WAC

Ein 

Red eyes flickered in the shadows, watching the unsuspecting victim scrounge about the street.  
A low growl rumbled from behind sharp teeth and the sleek form pounced; startling the prey as jaws stretched open and claws dug in, tearing limbs and tendons with a sickening snapping sound. 

The victim's screeches echoed into the night, agony clear in it's tone as it bled.  
Jaws snapped shut on vital arteries and bone, and the howling writhing form slumped to the asphalt. 

The large shadowed figure grasped the legs of the corpse and dragged it off into the darkness. 

The sound of ripping and bending could be heard, and shadows danced along the old and crumbling buildings as fire hissed and crackled to life. 

A buzzing sound split the night and whimpers and yelps followed soon after.  
A while later, the shadowy form reappeared, slightly larger and now satiated. 

It scanned the area for any curious eyes that might be watching, and when none were spotted, it turned and loped off into the night. 

***

You sighed, flopping back on the bed and groaning.  
It was storming outside, and you were stuck babysitting Bumblebee while the other Autobots went on patrol. 

Bumblebee wasn't too happy with it either, but he apparently had decided the best way to pass the time was to pester you.  
He also jumped on the bed, all 10 feet and 800+ pounds of him. 

The motion caused the bed to shake, and you stared at the ceiling while you waited for your body to stop violently rocking.  
After a moment you looked at Bumblebee. 

He was on his stomach, legs up and swinging back and forth.  
He has his chin in his hands and was staring at you with a smile and big blue eyes full of...of malice. You raised your eyebrows. 

"Soooooooooooooooooooo," he drawled, his grin widening,  
"tell me about you and Blitzbrain."  
"Oh my god, Bumblebee this again? "  
"Well why not? It's not like there's anything better to do!" 

"There are videogames. You have...a flatscreen tv...and both Hulu AND Netflix...how on Earth could hearing about my short, bitter love life be MORE entertaining than that stuff?"

Bee had just stuck his tongue out and was blowing raspberries, deliberately blowing little robot-spit bubbles.  
He just stared at you, like a toddler. He was evil. 

"I can never decide whether you deserve a sucker or to die," you muttered, though of course you were kidding.  
He stared at you, eyes getting bigger and a huge pout forming on his face. 

The little sucker could cry on command, and thus giant tears started forming in his eyes.  
You sighed, rubbing your forehead. "Oh my god, fine!"

Immediately his goofy expression returned, and he started swinging his legs again.  
"So tell me about how you met again!!!" 

You couldn't help but crack a smile.  
"Well, I was still in my old house, and I was alone. And scared. And miserable. And this one night I took a walk, and that was the night that changed everything. 

I heard this loud noise, and I went to investigate it. It was these two HUGE bots and they were fighting."  
Bee's eyes always lit up when you told this story, and they were especially alight this time. 

"Weren't you scared?"  
You nodded. "I really was. It was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. I was like...right there while two gigantic aliens went at it.  
I didn't know if I was going to be crushed or eaten but the one thing I did know was that something strange and unusual was going to happen. 

I just didn't know it would be as crazy as it turned out to be. " 

You smiled a bit as you remembered that first encounter.  
It was terrifying. But it was when you first saw your Blitzwing.  
Those few weeks you had with him had changed your life forever. 

Your smile slowly faded as you thought about it.  
You had barely met them when they were taken away.  
And even now you had no idea if they were alive or not. 

Sure, you'd seen the news.  
But...the Autobots had searched.  
And there was no sign of Blitzwing. They were...gone. 

"Y/N?" Bee asked, startling you from your thoughts.  
You looked at him. "Huh?"  
"You okay? You started daydreaming or somethin'. " 

"Oh, yeah... I'm...okay. "  
You weren't. But part of you wondered if Bee asked you to retell this story over and over because he somehow knew it helped keep Blitzwing alive to you. 

You brought your attention back to the present.  
"Now, let's see...where was I?"  
"The vicious battle!" Bee exclaimed, making 'pew pew' sounds and flopping over dramatically. 

You chuckled, smiling. "Right. So, they started fighting it out, and I ran my ass back home.  
Not long after that I decided to go back and look for them.  
Sure enough, I found-" "BLITZBRAIN!" Bee interrupted.

"Well, kinda..I found Icy. He was injured. He didn't want me around at the time, but he was bleeding badly. I went home and got shit outta my shed to fix him with...My smart ass really took a drill with no way to plug it in...and this huge sheet of metal.

"I got back, and he wasn't too thrilled. And I ended up needing his help fixing him up.  
We...talked. A little, anyway.  
And then he started bleeding out.  
And I panicked. And I commend Megatron. I...never should have done that..''

Your heart was pounding and tears welled in your eyes as that thought finally hit you...  
You never should've commed Megatron. 

"A-anyway...they came and got him, and I thought I'd never see him again...and then Lugnut came after me. Megatron took me to his ship. I heard too much...and almost died. And then my friend and I came to find you all..."

"And then you absolutely wrecked Optimus!!!"  
You didn't reply. Your mind was elsewhere; reliving the entire scenario. It felt like a dream. 

But it wasn't a dream.  
It was a nightmare.


	2. The Dream

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
  
-WAC

Svei  
You rarely had dreams this vivid.  
Usually they were just whispers that left your mind when you woke, but this time was...different.  
It felt like you were there, but you also weren't...you...  
You were in someone else's body, unable to control their movements. They were running, and it was nighttime. They were on all fours, and you began to sense a familiarity to the way they moved. The gait...the panting...and then the familiar noises and clicks.  
Random?  
He continued to run, twisting and leaping onto the side of a building. He kicked off, landing and flipping upside down and jumping through the underside of a bridge. He continued to pant as he ran, glancing over his shoulder. You saw through his eyes that a light of some sort was close behind, and it looked like a spotlight.  
Were you...was he being followed?  
He continued to gallop until he reached a bridge; he grasped hold of the metal and hoisted himself up, climbing until he could jump onto the bridge itself. There wasn't much traffic , and he jumped over the few passing cars, claws lightly scratching the road as he landed and kept running.  
He looked behind again and the light was seemingly searching for him. He picked up his pace, panting and growling as his feet kicked him into the air. He didn't activate his jets, and his wings remained tightly tucked against his body as he pelted down the highway.  
He leaped onto an arch, looking down over the bridge and the sea surrounding it; looking up at the light as it scanned the road. The object from which the light came looked familiar somehow...  
Random hissed, turning and leaped onto the next arch. He slipped, leaving massive gouges in the metal as he attempted to regain his footing. He swung around and dropped, landing on the side of the bridge and looking at the water below. It was a dark, murky void, and you felt your heart drop even though it was a dream.  
He huffed and pulled himself up, gripping the metal and dragging himself back up the arch. He leaped to the next one, and the next, and his breathing became more labored. The light was catching up, and you could feel a sense of impending doom as Random kept jumping. He kicked off the arch and reached out all four limbs, claws flexed. He caught on and swung to one side, looking up as the light swept ahead and into the other part of the city at the end of the bridge.  
It turned red, and a frightening sound blared from the thing in the sky. It began to rain as the light continued scanning, and after a moment it flashed red again. The siren sound echoed into the night again, and Random climbed onto the top of the arch, looking from the shadow in the sky to the water below. After a moment, the light swung around, and Random leaped up off of the arch, angling down and stretching out his limbs to prepare for impact.  
You felt your stomach twist as he shot towards the water, and a moment later he struck it, and you felt the most painful smack to your face as the icy water came into abrupt contact. It felt like you were suffocating and the water was closing in around you and it was dark and then-

You sat up, gasping. You looked around the dark room, frantically trying to figure out where you were. After a moment you calmed enough to realize you were in your room at the Autobots' place. You shuddered, getting up and looking out the window. It was storming, lightning flashing across the dark sky and thunder making the floor tremble.  
Your heart was still pounding, and you thought about the dream you'd just had. And then it hit you. 

I can barely believe it


	3. Under Water

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.

-WAC

Drei

You burst into the main room, eyes wide and heart pounding.   
The Autobots looked up and over at you, surprised.   
"He's alive!" You gasped out, gripping the door frame for support.

"What? Who?" Optimus asked, cocking his head.   
Bee peeked over the back of the couch at you, and Bulkhead was already scratching his head. 

"Blitzwing... he's alive," you repeated with more force.   
Ratchet scoffed. "That's impossible! We've been searching and scanning for weeks! "   
You sighed curtly, shaking your head.

"No, I saw him. "   
"What?? Where?" Optimus asked, taking a step closer.   
"In my dream..."   
Everyone drew back, confused.   
"Your dreams? Hate to tell yeh, but that ain't reality, kid," Ratchet muttered.

You began to get frustrated.   
"You don't understand. I know this wasn't a dream. I was asleep, but I wasn't dreaming. I was...seeing things...but not through my own eyes. I was seeing them through his..."

Ratchet went to respond again but Optimus put out a hand to silence him. He knelt down, looking concerned. "And you're sure this wasn't a dream? "   
"I'm...I-I mean...it could have been but it didn't...feel like one..."

"What happened in it?" Bee asked, still peering over the couch.   
"He was... running...there was this thing in the sky following him...it had a big spotlight that turned red. And he was on a bridge...and then he had to jump into the water..."

"Were you maybe re-living what happened when he...sacrificed himself?" Optimus asked.   
Tears started to form in your eyes.   
"No! Why won't any of you listen to me?!"   
You turned and stormed back down the hall, running into your room and slamming the door.

You jumped onto the bed and began to cry, squeezing the pillows tightly as hot tears rolled down your cheeks. Your chest ached and you were so angry and hurt.

You debated calling your friend, but she was probably sleeping. It was late and she would need to be up early for her nursing stuff.   
You grabbed your phone, reading the time.

1:08 AM.

You continued to stare at your phone for awhile before gritting your teeth and throwing it across the room.   
It landed with a thunk against the wall before hitting the floor.

You sat up, wiping your face.  
Fuck them.   
Blitzwing was out there. And you'd find him all by yourself if you had to.

You got up and hurriedly got dressed, making sure to dress warmly, as it was chilly at this hour and there was a nasty misty fog hanging over the city. 

Before you could make your move, the door opened, and Bee stood there, concern on his face.   
You stood, frozen, as if he'd caught you in the middle of doing something bad.   
"...y/n? Whatcha...doin?"

Your lip trembled.   
You set your jaw and continued tugging your boot over your foot.   
"I'm going out there...and I'm going to find him.   
I don't CARE if no one believes me. I know what I saw. And you're either WITH me or against me. Either way, no one can stop me. " 

Bee blinked, seeming surprised.   
"I...I was coming to...to tell you I believed you. "  
He scratched his head.   
You looked up at him, not knowing how to respond.   
He...believed you?   
"You...you do?"

He nodded. "Sure I do...they don't really listen to me alot either cuz I'm young and they don't take me seriously...but, I believe you. "  
You finished putting your boots on. "Good. Because I really don't want to go out there alone...but I'll do whatever it takes to find him."

"I'll go with you," Bee said almost immediately.   
You nodded, collecting yourself before turning to your window. "I'll need someone to catch me... I'm not going out the doors."   
Bee's eyes widened but he nodded. "err...right! I'll catch you. Just lemme get outside first." 

You nodded, watching him leave the room.   
You sighed, heart still pounding with exhilaration as you waited.   
A few minutes later, you saw Bee a few stories down, outside.   
You opened the window and peered out. 

Bee gave a thumbs up.   
"I'll catch you!" He whisper-shouted.   
You nervously climbed out and slid down to the edge of the awning, gripping the wet metal tightly.   
As you scooted, you lost your footing, and slid off the edge. 

Your whole body froze up and you covered your face as if it would keep you from breaking something when you inevitably hit the ground.   
Instead, you landed on something hard but not as bad as the ground.   
You looked up to see Bee.

"You okay??" He asked.   
You nodded. "Y-yeah...thanks."  
He transformed and you put on your seatbelt.   
And he drove off into the city. 

***

"This one!!! " You exclaimed, and Bee hit the brakes.   
"This looks like the bridge I saw," you explained, and Bee let you out before transforming.   
"Oh geez... what are we looking for...?"  
You rubbed your arms, looking around.  
"Claw marks, scrapes...he did alot of running. I'm sure this is the place though..." 

Bee shuddered, looking at the empty bridge and walking along the railings. "sheesh...this is creepy."   
You agreed, walking hurriedly and looking around for any evidence of Blitzwing. 

"Hey!! Y/N!!" Bee called, and you looked up.   
Bee was pointing to something sticking out of the metal way up on the bridges beams.   
You peered up at it but couldn't tell what it was.  
"Can you get us any closer?" You asked. 

Bee stood on his toes, grunting as he tried to reach.   
"No, not really...I may have to climb up."   
You bit your lip, trying to think.   
"Let me go up first...that way you can push me up higher."   
"Are you sure that's...safe?" 

You shrugged. "As safe as any of this has been..."   
Bee looked reluctant, but soon gave in.   
"Mmmmmm-fineeee...but if we get caught, it's not just my fault."   
"Agreed, let's just get going.." you said impatiently.  
Bee groaned, walking up to the metal pole and activating his stingers. 

He dug them into the metal and let you climb up onto his back. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he began his attempt to climb the pole.   
The process was agonizingly slow, but eventually Bee was able to move up a good distance. 

"Alright-I think we're close enough! I'll try to hold on as long as I can but... you know we're bad with our grip in this weather!" Bee called, and you prepared to make your move. 

You slowly pulled yourself up, hugging the pole as you stood on his shoulders.   
You reached out, grasping for the object stuck in the pole. Almost...there....  
"I can't reach it!!! You're gonna have to push me!" You called. 

"IIII'm not so sure about that!" Bee called, looking down, "oh geez!"  
You tightened your lips. "It'll only take a second!!!"   
Bee looked up at you before groaning. "Fine! But.... we'll only have a few seconds!!!"

You nodded, slowly moving down to Bee's arm.  
Fuck, you all were so high in the air...and the dark and cold waters were churning down below.   
You forced yourself to look away, back up to the object so close to your grasp. 

"Okay! On three, I'm gonna push you up there, okay? You gotta grab it as fast as you can!" Bee called.  
You nodded. "I'm ready!" You called back.  
You weren't. You never would be. This was insane! 

"One...two...three!" Bee pushed you up with one arm, and you grabbed the object, pulling on it.   
It was stuck, but you refused to let go.   
"Y/N! I'm slipping, I've gotta let go of you!"  
"I've almost got it!!" You cried. 

Bee couldn't wait.   
He let go of your legs, grabbing onto the pole.   
You hung from the thing in the metal, heart pounding loudly from exhilaration and fear.   
You pressed your knees against the metal and tugged.  
"Y/N!!! Look out!!! There's something coming!!!" Bee cried.

You could barely hear him as the wind picked up.   
You were so focused on the object, you just couldn't look away.   
Suddenly, a red light engulfed you, and the sound of that horrid siren from your dream wailed in your ears.

You looked up, seeing the same aircraft from the dream not far away, flying closer rapidly.   
"Y/N we gotta go NOW!!!" Bee cried.   
You felt the object loosening. "I've almost got it!!!"  
But there was no time.

What seemed to be a small missile struck the pole and sent you flying off the pole and down, towards the churning water.  
Bee was also knocked loose, and you both descended rapidly.  
"BEE!!!" you cried in terror, only having a moment to shield your face before slamming into the icy waters. 

They swallowed you up into frigid darkness. 

***

You thrashed about in the water, fear keeping you from breathing or swimming towards the surface.   
You were suffocating, being crushed, and you couldn't move your body to help yourself. 

Was this the end?   
Would you die like this?   
Don'tbreathedontbreathedontbreathedontbreathe-  
A hand grasped your shirt and you felt yourself getting yanked upwards.   
A moment later you felt the water break and you could feel air hit your face.   
"Y/N! I've got you!!" Bee cried. 

You gasped and choked, desperately filling your lungs with salty air.   
Bee pulled you with him and made his way to less choppy waters.  
Somehow he made it to shore, and he stumbled out of the water, dragging you with him until he collapsed. 

You coughed out seawater, shuddering.   
You shivered as you looked towards the bridge.   
It was only after that that you realized you still had the object from the bridge clutched in your freezing cold hand.   
You looked at it, trying hard to make out what it was.   
It was a claw! 

Bee was now coughing water out of his vents, the speedster shuddering and purging as he crawled further up the bank.   
The red light suddenly returned, scanning the water and sand nearby. 

"Bee! We've gotta go! Now!" You managed, stumbling to your feet and running to Bee.   
Bee looked up, seeing the light.   
He grabbed you, transforming and speeding down the embankment. 

He hit the city and sped down the highway, still weak but managing.   
You watched out the back window, lookin for the light.   
"I don't see it! But be careful!!"   
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can!" Bee cried, taking a hard right. 

After a long and terrifying drive, the city began to look familiar.   
Bee sped to the bots' home tower, driving into the garage and up the ramps.   
He transformed and crashed through the doors, panting heavily. 

The bots, who were all in a group, looking worried, looked up, eyes wide.   
"Bumblebee?? Y/N?!" Optimus asked, "we've been worried SICK! Where have you BEEN?"   
"Searching...Got...attacked...red light...siren... cold...chased...barely...made it... back..." Bee gasped out before collapsing again. 

Ratchet hurried over, scooping up the little bot and hurriedly taking him down to his medbay.   
"What? What was he saying?? What happened??" Optimus asked, concern in his tone.   
You were shuddering and shivering, unable to speak at first.

"W-we looked for him...and... and got attacked..." You stammered out.   
Optimus looked a bit frustrated. "That's where you've been?? At insane clicks of the night?! Bee looked seriously hurt! Why did you go out alone??!"

The shock had worn off, and tears welled in your eyes.   
"I-I'm sorry," you whimpered, "I-I made him go with me-i-its my fault..."   
You sank to your knees, beginning to sob.   
Optimus blinked, brows furrowing. 

"Why are you...soaking wet?" Prowl queried, stepping closer and tilting his head.   
"N-nearly drowned...'' you choked, before returning to panicked sobbing.   
"What??" Prowl gasped, before turning to Bulkhead.   
"See that y/n stays warm, while I grab some towels and dry clothing!" He turned and loped from the room, leaving you, Bulkhead and Optimus. 

Optimus knelt beside you, unsure of what to do.   
"I-I'm sorry I snapped at you, I...I didn't know what happened..."   
You couldn't reply.  
Optimus gently picked you up and held you close to him, his metal warm. 

Not long after, Prowl returned.   
"I have the items," he said gently, "can you...stand? Do you need assistance?"   
You nodded, attempting to wipe the tears from your eyes. 

Optimus gently set you down, and Prowl took you to your room.   
He set the clothes and towels on your bed, looking away.   
You tried to pull your soaking wet hoodie off, but your arms were weak and it was too heavy. 

After a moment of frustrated whimpers and sniffles, you gave up. Prowl turned, frowning as he saw your expression.  
"Do...you need help?" He asked.   
You nodded, still shivering. 

He seemed a bit anxious, and he apologized profusely as he pulled your hoodie off for you.   
You hadn't worn your binder, thankfully, however you were much too exhausted and cold to care that you were half nude in front of Prowl.

Prowl seemed very reluctant to remove anything else, but he could tell you couldn't do it, and the sooner you were warm with dry clothes, the better.   
He helped undress you down to your underwear, which he didn't touch. 

He averted his gaze, and you managed to remove them yourself.   
He wrapped you up in one towel, using the other to gently dry your hair.  
"Are you...alright? Do you need medical assistance?" He asked softly. 

You shook your head.  
"N-no I'm....I'm okay...j-just focus on Bee..."  
Prowl nodded.   
He removed the towel and helped pull a quite large sweater over your head.   
You were too tired to bother with the sweatpants, and you shook your head. 

Prowl gently laid you in bed, propping you up with pillows and pulling your blanket over you.   
"Try to rest," he said, "and if you need anything, use the comm we gave you." 

You nodded, eyelids becoming heavy.   
You mumbled a thank you before falling into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow wow wow!!!  
Thank you all for so many kudos and likes! It really means the world to me!   
Feel free to comment and stuff. I love interacting with you! ♥️♥️✨🌻


	4. Elite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Decided to pick this back up. I got legit ONE comment and it inspired me to continue!   
So if you like it, please leave a comment, let me know what you liked, ect! 
> 
> Also, at the end of this chapter, some mildly triggering topics are brought up. A brief segment about the reader feeling depressed, lonely, all alone and wanting to die.   
It's very brief, but if it upsets you please avoid it!!! 
> 
> I love y'all, and I, too, experience these feelings sometimes. Remember to reach out to someone you trust if you feel this way! 
> 
> Thank you💕

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  


-WAC

-Vier-

You woke with a start, panicked and trying to figure out where you were.  
And then you remembered.  
You quickly got up, legs still shaking, and pulled on your pants, running out of your room, down the hall and to the main area where the other bots were. 

Ratchet was talking quietly to Optimus, and Bulkhead wasn't present.   
Prowl noticed you from where he sat cross-legged atop the couch and perked up immediately.   
"Ah. You are finally awake," he said, "are you feeling alright?" 

Ratchet and Optimus glanced over.   
Before Optimus could talk, you looked at Ratchet and asked "Where's Bee??"  
"He's fine, just a bit waterlogged...mind tellin' me what EXACTLY happened last night?" Ratchet drawled, folding his arms sternly and raising an eyebrow. 

You sighed, rubbing your forehead and moving over to sit on the couch.   
"I...After the dream I had, I...could FEEL him.   
I knew he was alive. But no one BELIEVED me...except Bee..." You curled your legs up close to yourself, and Prowl assumed you were cold. 

He grabbed a blanket off the edge of the couch and brought it to you, wrapping it around your shoulders.  
You nodded to him gratefully, and then continued.   
"He insisted he go with me, and we went out to find any trace of...him..." It was difficult to even say the bots' name anymore. 

We found a bridge that...that was in the dream and...there was something poking out of it.   
Bee got me as close to it as possible, and I almost had it when...some weird red light shined on us, something fired at us, and we...we fell into the water. 

Bee saved me, we reached land but the... the thing that the light was coming from followed. Bee lost it at some point and we managed to get here..."   
"The... object in the bridge, was it the claw that you left on the floor when you arrived?" Optimus asked, and you nodded.   
"Where is it?'' you asked. 

"I've got it in the lab, testing it," Ratchet said, pointing his thumb backwards in the direction of the lab.   
"Can I...see Bee?" You asked, and Ratchet was about to respond when you heard a loud beep from the lab.   
Ratchet hurried out of the room and into the lab down the hall, moments later letting out a loud "That's impossible!!!"

You got up and hurriedly went to see what he was talking about.   
Optimus and Prowl followed.   
The claw was under a lens, and there was writing on a screen along with a small image and a few flashing words.   
"What is it??" You asked, unable to read the words due to it being so high up. 

Ratchet scratched his chin.   
"It says here that this claw has a direct match to Blitzwing's energy signature...but that's impossible! We searched everywhere!"   
Optimus looked wide-eyed at the screen, and then down at you, his blue optics seeming to portray guilt. 

"I... I'm sorry we doubted you, Y/N," he said, looking at the floor.   
You blinked, looking at him.   
You opened your mouth to reply but before you could, you were interrupted. 

"Well?? Are we gonna go get him??"   
Everyone turned to see Bee standing in the doorway, legs wobbling a little as he grinned sheepishly.   
"Sorry, doc-bot," Bulkhead said as he lumbered over.   
"I couldn't keep him in bed..." 

Ratchet sighed, face-palming.   
You ran to be, hugging him. "I'm glad you're okay!!!" You said.   
Optimus tightened his lips. "We should search the bridge where Y/N and Bee were attacked, that may give us to something that might lead us Blitzwing.  
Bumblebee, Ratchet, you stay here.   
Prowl, Bulkhead, you're with me. " 

"I have to go!" You protested. "I know where the bridge is."   
"Looks like downtown Detroit," Ratchet mused, pointing to the TV that was now on in the corner of the lab, showing the news. 

"No one seems to know what happened, but multiple reports of a loud explosion were called in last night, and afterwards, more reports of the bridge covered in smoke.   
We have asked multiple bystanders about the occurrence, & will have more reports by this evening. "  
The news anchor prattled on, and you turned to Optimus. 

"Please? Let me go with you..."  
Optimus sighed. "Alright, you can ride with Ratchet."  
"No faaaair," Bee whined, "I can help!"   
"No, Bumblebee," Optimus said sternly, "we need you to get better. You will stay here. No exceptions!"  
Bee signed, sulking off into the living room. 

You watched him go, frowning.   
Ratchet transformed, followed by Optimus and Prowl, and you climbed into Ratchet's front seat.   
They drove out and down to the ramp in the lower section, the doors slowly opening and allowing them to drive down and out. 

You were pretty quiet as you rode with Ratchet, watching out the window as you passed people on the streets and saw buildings flashing by.   
The events of the night before were bubbling up in your mind, and you didn't know how to cope. 

Ratchet's voice startled you back to reality.  
"You okay there, kid? Yer alot... quieter than usual..."  
You chewed your thumb, bouncing your leg nervously.   
"Y-yeah I'm..just hoping we find him."   
Ratchet didn't respond for a minute. 

"Y'know, you can't fool me, right? I know somethin else is battering around up there..."   
You sighed, blinking back tears.   
"I...I just don't know how to deal with yesterday and last night...."   
"Tch..."  
"Like...you all refused to believe me and...and then I nearly DIED and so did Bumblebee....and it's... it's shock, I guess? I don't know..." 

"I'm...sorry for not believing you, Y/N," the old medic admitted, before pausing.   
After a long silence, he continued with a sigh.   
"As for everything else...Talk to someone about it...these kinda things aren't healthy if you keep em locked up. It'll frag your mind...It'll age you...it'll suck the life out of you, kid..."

"Did....did something you went through do... the same to you?" You asked carefully, brows furrowing.   
"I-" "We're here," Optimus said over comm, and Ratchet slowed to a stop. The area was sectioned off, but the bots were waved through. 

Once they got to the site, they transformed, Ratchet setting you on the ground carefully.   
They walked over to the area that had been fired upon.   
Optimus examined some scuffs of yellow paint from Bee's struggle the night before, and then up at the melted metal caused by the mysterious attack. 

Prowl walked over to an officer, kneeling down. "Is there any CC-TV footage of the events of last night? I presume there are cameras all over the city..."  
The officer scratched his head, "Yeah, there probably was...but we lost all electricity and internet and system connections last night.   
By the time we regained it, all of our information was wiped clean. " 

"Everything?" Optimus asked, turning to look at the man. "Yep. All records of activity, footage from the last month, databases full of information about citizens and other things, including top secret information. All of it. Gone. "

"That must be an awful loss," Optimus said, folding his arms.   
"Y/N," he continued, turning to you and letting the officer continue his duties, "did you see or notice anything about what shot at you? Something that might help us determine who or what it was?" 

You got distracted as you watched Prowl leap up the pole and pull something out of the metal, before gracefully leaping down.   
Optimus turned. "I found this...lodged in the top of the beams...I believe it is what caused the damage."   
Ratchet took it, holding it with his magnets and examining it. 

"It's got some old Cybertronian coding on it... looks to be Decepticon..."   
He continued to examine, and you turned to Optimus.   
"In the vision I had, we got a brief glimpse of it. It was like a helicopter but bigger, and honestly the only thing I noticed was the bright red light... it was like a spotlight. And when it spotted Bee and I, this loud siren sound blasted from it. "

"My gods," Ratchet gasped, and everyone looked to him. "It's what I was afraid of..."  
"What? What is it?" Optimus asked, eyes wide.   
"It's Shockwave..."

***

"What??? The Elite Guard??? Why??" Bee wailed.   
Optimus sighed, "Calm down, Bee. It's just a precaution. If Shockwave is flying around this planet with vital information and databases full of people's identities and movements and whereabouts, not only are Earth dwellers not safe, but...neither are we. " 

"Prime's got a point, kid," Ratchet added, "we were no match for Megatron...and we'll be no match for Shockwave without the Elite Guard. I...don't want to call em, either...but it's the only safe thing to do." 

"... what about Blitzwing?" You asked quietly, stepping forward.   
"I don't think it's safe to search for him right now," Optimus said, frowning.   
"The Elite Guard wouldn't be too happy to hear about him, though," Ratchet said, a grimace set deep into his features. "You're right," Optimus admitted, rubbing his neck. "I guess we'll have to avoid mentioning him." 

"When do we speak with the Elite Guard?" Prowl asked.   
"Now," Optimus replied.  
You went to your room to let them have their talk.   
You collected your discarded phone, unlocking it and opening a chat box with your friend.   
You thought for a long time before just typing "Lots going on. Miss you." 

You set your phone down and rolled onto your side, sighing. Your mind wandered to Blitzwing.   
You missed them all so much.   
They were probably out there, in danger, running from... Shockwave or whatever, and there wasn't much you could do.   
Shockwave apparently was really dangerous, and there was no telling what he'd do if he found Blitzwing before the Autobots did. 

Around an hour later, there was a knock at your door.  
"Come in," you sulked.   
Bee peeked inside and looked at you. "Uhhh...can I hide in here with you for awhile?"   
You nodded, remaining where you were.   
Bee stepped in and closed the door, walking over and looking at you again. 

"You okay?" 

"No.... everything is a mess..."   
"Oh...uhhh...at least we're alive, right?"   
"Yeah...WE are...are the Elite Guard coming?"   
"Yeah... I'm not too happy about it...I wanna go hide in a corner to be honest," Bee admitted, shrugging. 

You snorted. "You and me both..."   
"So! Uhhhh...wanna pretend everything's fine for a little while?"   
You rolled to look at Bee, eyes searching his face to see if he was being serious.   
He was. 

"What...do you mean?" You asked, half suspicious.  
Bee presented his datapad.  
"Well...I found this really cool place called Reddit and they have this weird thing called a fifty fifty challenge and I was hoping you'd...do it with me. Cause I don't know what a fiftyfifty is, but I sure do like a challenge." 

You rolled your eyes, letting a small smile tug at your lips. He was endearing...  
You scooted over to let the yellow bot crawl onto your bed, the frame creaking as he did so.   
And then he lifted his datapad, typed 'Reddit fifty fifty' and then settled in to start the challenge. 

***

You were actually laughing.   
You TOLD Bee not to select "Delicious six layer sponge cake or spaghetti o's inside a man's anal cavity" but he HAD, and of COURSE he was met with a high resolution image of a man's spread ass with spaghetti o's coming out of him. 

Bee was screaming and wiping at his eyes as if to scrub the image away.   
You were on the verge of tears laughing when Optimus opened the door, looking solemn.   
"Hey, uh... they're here." Bee set down the datapad, face sagging. "Oh, uh...right."   
He got up and headed out. 

"Do you want me to stay here?" You asked Optimus.   
"For now... Sorry for this...this whole ordeal..."   
You nodded, hugging yourself. "It's not really your fault...be careful."   
He nodded, closing the door. 

You waited until you heard people entering the tower before sneaking out and down the hall to peek into the main area.   
The autobots were joined by a taller blue and gold bot, a white bot with red and blue stripes, and a really tall and sorta regal looking dark blue bot who held a massive hammer. 

They rambled on for awhile about being glad that they came so soon, ect. And then the largest bot, Ultra Magnus you assumed, spoke.   
"Do you have substantial evidence of Shockwave's advance to Earth?"

"No, sir, but-"

"WHAT?" the blue and yellow bot yelled. "You called Ultra Magnus and his elite guard away from Cybertron to hunt after someone you can't even PROVE is here?? It's like you're TRYING to waste our time!!!"   
"Cool it, Sentinel," the white bot drawled calmly, blue visor flashing.   
"I don't think OP would bring us out here for no reason." 

'Sentinel' scowled, gritting his teeth.   
"Did ANY of you see Shockwave?" Ultra Magnus asked, sounding slightly irritated.   
"No sir, but-" "WHAT?!?!" "Sentinel, stand DOWN," Magnus grumbled, raising a hand.   
"Y-yes, Sir," Sentinel stammered out, glaring at Optimus. 

"Are you telling me that none of you saw Shockwave? " Magnus asked.   
"That'd be correct, Sir," Ratchet scowled, "but we did find a small missile that we believe belongs to him."   
"And where did you find it?"   
"Lodged in a bridge."   
"Who was he shooting at?" Ultra Magnus raised an eyebrow. "One of ours, Sir." Optimus said lamely. 

"Show us this missile."   
Optimus led the bots into the other room, and you waited, heart pounding.   
You heard muffled talking, and so you decided to sneak closer.   
You tiptoed through the main room and stood beside the entryway to the lab, listening. 

"This is the missile, Sir," Ratchet said, and Magnus hmm'ed thoughtfully.   
"This does appear to be Decepticon weaponry," he said.  
"What's this?" Sentinel asked, and you heard him pick up something.   
"Err, that's just a claw we found as well...it's no matter..." Ratchet said quickly.   
"Looks like a Decepticon claw to me. Are you hiding something?" Sentinel demanded. 

"No, of course not, Sentinel," Optimus interjected. "We were just studying it."   
Sentinel growled.  
"Enough, Sentinel," Magnus chided tiredly, and you heard them approaching the doorway.   
"If you see any more signs of Decepticon activity, or gather substantial evidence to support your claim, contact us immediately," the huge bot said to Optimus. 

You didn't have time to hide. 

The bots rounded the corner.   
And then

Sentinel

shrieked. 

The big bot leaped a foot in the air and jumped backwards when he saw you, eyes wide and arms up to shield his face.   
"What IS that?!" He cried.   
"That's...an ally of ours, he's a human," Optimus explained.   
Magnus raised an eyebrow in your direction. "And this...human...it is of importance to you?" 

"Yes, Sir. He has greatly helped our cause." 

"... unusual...but...interesting." 

"It's disgusting!!" Sentinel hissed, scowling at you.   
"Keep it away from me!"  
"Right back at you," you mumbled.   
"EEEW it TALKS!!!" Sentinel shrieked. 

The white bot stared at you, seemingly fascinated.   
"Come," Magnus ordered his crew, "we will expect you to keep in touch, Optimus."   
"Yes, of course, Sir," Optimus nodded, saluting them.   
He led them out and Ratchet turned to you. 

"What were you thinking, kid??"  
"I-I'm sorry, I...I just wanted to know what was going on..."   
"Well maybe don't stand where Sentinel PRIME can see you next time!"   
"But, it's not his fault for being curious, doc-bot!" Bee defended you, "he IS kinda part of our team! Not HIS fault Sentinel's a pussy!"

Prowl slapped the back of Bee's head. "Watch your language."   
"Ow! Hey! It's TRUE, isn't it? ISN'T it??"   
"Ratchet's right, I'm afraid," Optimus sighed wearily as he returned.   
"It was dangerous to come out and be seen. Sentinel barely trusts us, and he'd gladly use anything as a way to incriminate us and get us sent back to bridge maintenance on Cybertron..."

"Why?" You asked, feeling very targeted.   
"Because Sentinel is....brash, and his ego is-" "bigger than his chin?" Bee interjected, grinning meekly.   
"...yes, I suppose that works," Optimus sighed, frowning at the speedster. 

"I'm sorry...I just...nevermind." you turned and went to the doors leading to the elevator that was used for you to travel up or down, you being so small and everything.   
"Where are you going?" Optimus asked worriedly. 

"Just a walk." You muttered.  
"Are you sure that is a good idea after yesterday?" Prowl asked, concern deep in his voice.   
"I'll be fine," you said shortly before stepping into the elevator and letting it close. 

You let the image of them all staring after you wide eyed melt from your vision and forced back tears as the elevator descended.   
When it reached the ground level, you stepped out and headed outside. 

The moon was out, and it was a cool evening.   
You stuffed your hands in your pockets as you walked, huffing. It wasn't fair. You were so left out. It was like you just didn't belong ANYWHERE.   
You'd lost your...boyfriend, your biological family (good riddance minus your little brother) and now you had to hide because some big stupid fat chinned chode-bot couldn't handle his tin-can BLADDER when he saw a human being. 

This was stupid. You were stupid. Everything sucked and it was your fault. You wanted to vanish. Disappear.   
Hell, dying didn't sound so bad right now, honestly.   
You were so buried in your thoughts that you didn't hear the clank of a massive pede step onto the sidewalk from the shadows. 

You heard a chuckle and gasped, looking up to see a pair of glowing red eyes.   
"Well, hello there, little organic..."


	5. Bounty

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  


-WAC

Fünf

The lithe form galloped through the abandoned underground train station, tongue hanging out as it ducked and disappeared into a huge hole in the ground that lead to a mine shaft. 

Once safely there, it huddled down, panting.   
"We should be safe from him here," a calm voice said, though it sounded tired.   
"VE HAVE USED ALL OUR RESOURCES. WE'RE GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH!"   
"Nein, Hothead. We will form a plan. "   
"Vhy don't ve just go to ze autobots?" Random chimed in.   
"BECAUSE VE HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE VE AREN'T ZE BAD GUYS. ZEY COULD TURN US IN. "   
"Ja, but it's also just dangerous to go out. Especially if Shockwave is following. Ve don't want to lure him to..." Icy stopped, unable to continue his sentence. 

Their spark ached ever since they'd lost you.   
Blitzwing timidly spoke; "we...have to do something... regardless..."   
Once he spoke, it seemed as though everyone calmed a bit.   
"Ja, zat ve do. We'll figure it out, hm?" Icy sighed tiredly. "But for now, ve rest..." 

***

When you didn't return for two hours, all the bots worried. Bee scouted outside and then rushed back in. "There's no trace of him anywhere!!! He's gone!" He panted. Optimus looked at Ratchet.   
"It's not safe to go searching but...what if something bad happened?"   
Ratchet grumbled. "It's too dangerous to go out there at night... Shockwave attacks easier..." 

"But he could be hurt! We can't wait till morning!" Bee cried.   
"I know, Bumblebee," Optimus rubbed his helm.   
"What are we gonna do?" Bulkhead questioned.  
"Give me a minute to form a plan," Optimus said, closing his eyes and leaning his helm in his hand. 

***

You opened your eyes, groaning as a splitting headache hit you.   
You looked around the dark room, struggling against... rope? You were tied to a wall, and you could just barely make out shapes moving around the room.   
"Ahh, you're finally awake..." A deep voice purred.   
You saw a tall figure leaning against a wall, two red eyes peering at you. "You know, when my customer told me I'd be hunting down an organic, I laughed .." 

"Who are you?? Where am I??" You demanded, heart pounding.   
The figure straightened up and slowly walked into the dim light coming from outside the room.   
He came into view; a tall, thin bot. His face was white with black markings, and his body was multicolored. 

"You're on my ship. And the names Lockdown. Best bounty hunter in the business. "   
You blinked, trying to see clearer. "Why am I here??"   
'Lockdown' chuckled, placing his hand on the wall beside you and leaning closer.   
"That information is...classified. But please, make yourself at home..." He began to laugh, moving away and over to a table mostly obscured from your view. 

"My only instructions were to keep you alive...and awake. Otherwise, you're free game..."   
"What's that supposed to mean??" You demanded, trying to sound brave and unbothered.  
"I don't care much about factions... autobot this, Decepticon that...but when I'm given such a good price on something....I can definitely pick a side..."   
You had no clue what he was talking about. 

"See, organics are insignificant to me. But I'm what you'd call a sadist. And I love seeing them leak... and squirm..." The mech turned to you, a sharp object in his hand.   
He slowly moved towards you, grinning wildly. 

If anyone's out there...if anyone's listening...please help me! 

***

Random's head shot up.   
"I heard him!!!"   
Hothead groaned. "KEEP IT DOWN, VILL YOU? I HAVE A HEADACHE..."  
Random pouted, putting his head back on his hands.   
A moment later, his eyes widened and he shot up again.   
"HIS headache!!!"   
"What are you on about, Random?" Icy sighed.   
Random squirmed impatiently. "I heard Y/N plead for help! Just now! We are connected!! And he must have a headache!"   
"ZAT IS RIDICULOUS!"   
"No it isn't! Feel him! "   
"WILL YOU SH-"   
"FEEL him!!!" Random insisted. The red faced mech went silent, chest tightening as they all realized Random spoke the truth. 

They could feel you. 

"Where iss he?" Icy demanded.  
"I don't know but he's on a ship somewhere nearby!" Random said, jumping up.   
"Then what are ve waiting for??"   
Random turned and galloped down the tunnel. 

***

Lockdown pressed the sharp object to your cheek, and you felt a little prick of pain.   
It definitely broke the skin.   
"Ahh look at that...organics bleed so, SO easily..."   
"Wh-why are you doing this??" You whimpered, leaning away as much as you could. 

"Well, I'm just biding my time, aren't I? Waiting for the rest of my shipment to arrive..."   
"Wh-what shipment?" You asked, attempting to keep him busy.   
"Once again, that's classified...."   
"But you're going to kill me, right? Wouldn't that be the most sadistic part? Telling me, and then slowly torturing the life out of me? It'd be even b-better because you'd have more reason to kill me..." 

Lockdown chuckled darkly.   
"Well, I hadn't thought about it like THAT..."   
He moved back a bit, grinning.   
"Alright. I'll bite. My client ordered me to keep you alive and take you to a rendezvous point...and then we're going to use you to bait out my client's target...and then voila. I get paid. I get you to kill. And then I can be on my way..." 

Your heart sank.   
"And.... who's your clients...target?"   
Lockdown smirked. "Ohh, just a troublesome little mech called-"  
Suddenly the ship rocked violently, and Lockdown slammed into a wall, grunting angrily.   
"What the SLAG?!"   
From above, a massive hole was ripped into the metal ceiling, and in crashed a large dark form. 

You couldn't believe your eyes.   
"Blitzwing!!!!" You cried.   
The mech hissed, leaping onto Lockdown and ripping into his arm. He tore his hand right off, red eyes blazing.   
The bot howled in pain, and Random turned to look at you. He leaped up and onto the wall, ripping you loose and then jumping up and out the hole he'd created. 

You were in shock. You couldn't speak.  
Random galloped with you down a winding hall and into the control room. He swung his claws across the panel, disrupting it and causing it to explode into sparks and fire. 

He turned and leaped at the windshield, crashing through it and climbing onto the top of the ship.   
He tore the thrusters and rockets loose, and then he jumped.   
You closed your eyes numbly.   
You felt him hit the ground and start running, and you opened your eyes again.   
You saw Lockdowns ship sailing overhead, probably about to crash. 

Random ran. Very fast.   
And it made you nauseous. But you were with him. And that was all that mattered.   
"Y-you came for me," you whimpered, adrenaline wearing off slowly.   
"Ve are sorry ve left you behind for so long," Random apologized, guilt in his tone. 

"I...I don't care, you're here now!"   
You looked around. "We need to get to the Autobot base! We'll be safe there! "   
"Nein! Shockwave might find them!"   
"He won't! And it's better than being out here!"   
"Fine! Which way do we go???" 

***

The autobots were organizing a search party.   
They were all worried, but also didn't know if Shockwave was running around out there.   
Everyone had been arguing over the best course of action. But Optimus was firm. He had decided that they needed to search for Y/N. 

Optimus slid open the garage doors, preparing to head out. "No one has to come with me. But...we can't leave him out there. Bee, come on." Bee readily followed, looking sadly back at Bulkhead, who didn't come with them.   
"Now, we'll have to start at the east poi-" Optimus didn't get the chance to finish as a massive form slammed directly into him, sending him crashing back into the base. 

"Optimus!!!" Ratchet shouted.   
Optimus cried out, trying to shield himself from the attacker.   
"Wait! Is that....Blitzbrain??" Bee cried.   
The massive mech jumped off of Optimus, panting heavily.   
"I... don't...think we were followed..." He panted before crashing onto his side.   
His arm slid down and his grip loosened, and out tumbled Y/N. 

Random continued to pant, optics closing.   
He heard muffled voices and cries before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow wow wow! Thank you all for the kudos!  
Sorry for being so inactive lately. I lost motivation to do alot of things.  
But I finally sat down and tried to write some more!   
More will come. Let me know what you think so far!


	6. Disagreements

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.

-WAC

Sechs

"What the slag is happening?" Ratchet demanded, arms folded.   
You were in shock, and could hardly answer. "H-help him..." was all you could muster before you fell to your knees, shaking.   
Prowl hurried to you, saying something but you couldn't hear him.   
You were in shock, and had zoned out from everything. 

Ratchet and Bulkhead dragged Blitzwing to the medbay, to get him an energon transfusion.   
Bee stayed with you and Prowl, looking worried. 

The next few hours were a blur, and then you passed out from exhaustion. 

The bots looked on as Ratchet tended to Blitzwing, worried looks on their faces.  
"Do you...think he was followed?" Bee asked, blue optics wide as he looked the massive Decepticon over.   
Optimus sighed, rubbing his helm. "I don't know, Bee...He said he wasn't followed, but I know Shockwave better than that. If anything, he noted our location and is going to send someone to attack us..."   
"If that's so, then we need to be protected..." Ratchet grumbled. 

"Not the Elite Guard..." Bee groaned.   
"What other choice do we have, kid?" The medic responded, sounding less angry and more fatigued.   
"well, we've got big guy here.....and he saved our skidplates last time..."   
"Well I don't know if you've noticed, but he's out cold on my medical slab..." 

"Look, I know we're ALL tired and being on edge constantly surely hasn't helped...but we all have to work together on this," Optimus interjected tiredly, looking at Prowl.   
"Prowl, how is Y/N?"   
"He is still asleep. Exhaustion, most likely..." Prowl answered.   
"At least someone is getting rest," Optimus sighed, turning back to the massive bot on the table.   
"What are we going to do when he wakes up?"   
"Hope he doesn't get angry and slaughter us," Ratchet muttered.   
"Ratchet, that isn't helpful...." Optimus frowned.   
"Prime, you've not seen the things I've seen. Decepticons are dangerous enough, but a wounded, unstable triple-changer? That doesn't spell good tidings for US." 

"We gave him a chance before, and he sacrificed himself for us, Ratchet...give him another chance, okay?"  
Optimus sounded more desperate now, blue optics dimmed with fatigue and helplessness.   
A loud click made everyone jump, and Ratchet quickly backed up as a low growl emitted from the giant Decepticon.   
His claws twitched again, and one red optic snapped online.   
"Eeeeeeeeasy, big guy..." Bee said, nervously chuckling.   
Random slowly shifted his helm, eyeing all the Autobots around him. He hissed, causing everyone to back up a bit further. 

"Do you..remember us?" Bulkhead asked anxiously.   
Random nodded, tapping his claws on the table. He rolled onto his side, hissing at Ratchet and Prowl before popping open his chest compartment.   
"Take it..." he growled. Optimus hesitantly stepped closer, and the mech snarled. "Not you..."   
His crimson optics flickered to Bee. Bee's little horns lowered as he realized what Random meant.   
"uhhhhhh...heh....oookay...." He inched closer, slowly reaching in and lifting a heavy box.   
"That's a signal dampener!" Ratchet exclaimed, "Where did you get this??"

"Lockdown's ship..."   
"Lockdown??" Optimus asked, optics widening.   
"Ja...Y/N was captive on his ship....presumably to lure US...we found it und...rescued Y/N..."  
"How did you know how to locate Y/N?" Bulkhead asked, and Random looked over to him slowly.   
"....we have a mental connection...don't you remember?"   
"There's no need to get snappy," Ratchet grumbled, and Random jerked his helm in his direction.   
He slowly pulled himself off the slab, eyes fixed on the medic. 

"We...were torn apart...until we were barely an exoskeleton...drifted to shore...und had to murder random decepticons that showed up to YOUR CITY trying to cause damage...for...MONTHS..." as he spoke, his rasping voice began deepening, and his body grew slightly smaller, but more muscular as his face switched with Hothead.   
"And JOU have ze AUDACITY to tone police me??!"  
Optimus hurried forward, carefully placing a hand between the two. "Both of you, please, don't do this now!"  
"I've fought WARS more difficult than your little expedition," Ratchet hissed back, unmoving.   
"Und I've fought PLANETS bigger than jour MOUTH, " Hothead growled. 

An ax slammed down between them, causing them both to back up.   
Optimus held his ax, frowning at the two bots.   
"I know you've both had a really rough time, and I'm sorry...but this isn't going to help us at all. Okay? Enough. That's...that's an order." His voice shook.   
Hothead shifted back into Random, and the mech lowered himself onto all fours.   
He turned and limped from the room. 

"Where are you goi-" Bulkhead began, but Optimus stopped him.   
"Let him go. Just..help me set up this signal dampener, okay?"

***

You groaned, shifting in bed.   
You had a terrible pain in your chest, and there was something heavy hitting your bed.   
You heard a faint clicking sound, and grumbled in annoyance.   
You slowly opened your eyes, seeing a massive form hovering over your bed.  
You quickly sat up, grunting in pain, and realized it was Random, staring at you, and drool was slowly hitting the bed from his open mouth.   
"Random..." you murmured, a wave of relief washing over you. He huffed, lowering his head and placing it in your lap.   
"What's...what's wrong?" 

"I cannot stay..." he muttered, optics flickering away to avoid your gaze.   
"Why not? You just...you just got here, and you'll be safe..."  
"The medic...despises us...and it's only going to burden you if we stay and argue..."  
You frowned. "Random...stay here..." You got up, carefully making your way out of your room and down to the Main Area.   
"Y/N! You're awake!" Bee exclaimed, but you ignored him. 

You heard Ratchet and Optimus talking, and followed the sound to the med bay.   
You stood in the doorway, shaking with both anger and fatigue from the day prior.   
"What is your PROBLEM??'' you demanded, and they both turned.   
"Y/N, I'm glad you're feeling better..." Optimus began but you waved him off.   
"You," you jabbed a finger at Ratchet. "I get that he's a Decepticon, but he's planning on LEAVING just because of YOU! "  
Ratchet went to say something, but then didn't. 

"Y/N..." Optimus began, stepping forwards, "everyone is just...on edge, alright? Blitzwing doesn't have to go anywhere...right, Ratchet?....Ratchet?"  
Ratchet had turned away, and wasn't listening.   
Optimus patted your shoulder, reassuring you everything was fine. 

"Let's give him some space, alright?"  
He led you out of the med bay, a worried look on his face. 

Ratchet, on the other hand, didn't need space.   
He was already in another place entirely.   
One much more dark and gruesome.


	7. Two Sides of The Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick content warning! This chapter contains triggering content involving war, violence, and death. If you cannot handle that, please skip! Stay safe ya'll UwU

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.

-WAC

Seiben

Gunshots echoed through the war-torn landscape, followed by explosions and screams.  
Ratchet, still a young medic, was hurriedly applying pressure to a wound on an injured mech.  
"You're gonna be alright!" Ratchet promised, energon seeping around his servos.  
He knew the mech wouldn't be, but it was all he could do.  
He couldn't just tell him he was going to die. 

The mech slowly began to quiet down, before ceasing to move at all.  
Ratchet swallowed hard, slowly getting up and moving on.  
He had done all he could.  
He saw a group of injured mechs, a few having just reached age above sparklings, and hurried towards them.  
"I'm coming!" he shouted over the explosions and canon fire.

Before he could reach them, a massive Decepticon landed on the ground beside them, red optics blazing.  
It's jet black face snapped open to reveal massive jaws, and as Ratchet watched in horror, it descended on them.  
The little mechs were defenseless, and covered themselves as they cried.  
"NO!!!" Ratchet cried, but it was too late.  
The mech snapped them into pieces, abandoning their corpus's and turning away, sprinting after the next innocent victim to tear into. 

On that day, Ratchet learned the name of the mech involved.  
And it was something he'd never forget. 

Over the years he had buried it into his processor, trying to forget all the trauma he went through as a young medic.  
But recently the memories had been triggered, and he was having to relive every nightmare all over again.  
Except, he didn't know the whole story.  
But he knew enough. 

***

Blitzwing wasn't having such a good time, either.  
He constantly had nightmares about the damage he and his brothers had caused.  
And recently, such memories had only grown stronger. 

The lithe mech had been experimented on.  
And for years had been played by Megatron himself. The tyrannical leader used him, tested him, and even had a set of controls for a time that forced him to obey whatever command given. It hadn't worked the way Megatron intended, as it wouldn't force the mech to reveal their long lost brother. But Megatron used it anyway, as a sort of punishment, causing mass destruction. 

***

The mech flew low over the planet, observing the terrified mechs running and hiding from the Decepticon assault.  
He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to fight. And yet here he was. Unable to refuse.  
"Those younglings...there!" Megatron barked through his comm, and the jet felt the command wiring itself into him.  
He transformed, landing beside the young mechs.  
They were so small, and scared. And he knew how they felt.  
"Destroy them!" Megatron commanded.  
The mech tried to resist, but it was futile. 

Tears leaked from the Decepticon's optics as he reared back, trying to shut out the whimpers and terrified cries of the injured little mechs below him.  
He lunged forwards, heard a snap, and felt energon pool into his gaping jaws and leak down his neck and chassis.  
He heard someone cry out, a small medic, but before he could say or do anything, another command was given, and he was forced to turn and run.


	8. Bait and Switch

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.

-WAC

Acht

"You can't be serious, can you??" You demanded, unable to process the information you had just received.  
"We have to go out and PROVE that this insane one eyed monstrosity is here, hunting us?!? Wasn't that weapon he dropped enough??" 

Optimus shrugged his shoulders in defeat.  
"I know how it sounds...But the Elite Guard won't help us if we cannot prove that we're not wasting their time."  
"Yeah, cause they think WE'RE a waste of time," Bee muttered, folding his arms. 

You looked from Optimus to Bee.  
"So how are we supposed to get proof, go out there with a video camera and ask him to smile?"  
"Well.....something like that..." Optimus admitted, rubbing his neck cables.  
"....are you....are you serious? You're serious, right?"  
"Yes..I think that we need to get a safe distance from here, wait until he follows us, and then get photo or video evidence... it's all we've got." 

"What if we did it while you're on com with them?" You asked, folding your arms across your chest as your stomach began to tighten.  
Optimus thought for a moment.  
"That could work...if only they would give us the time of day. Besides, it wouldn't be safe. Shockwave definitely will be monitoring any coms. 

And I don't think he would want the Elite Guard to know he was here. It would be easier to pick each individual autobot off if we're alone..." 

You frowned.  
"Yeah.. I guess you're right. Well, you've gotta form a plan then, right? Our strategy?"  
"You cannot go out there, Y/N," Optimus replied, concern in his tired blue optics. "You've almost died twice in the last two weeks. We can't risk it. " 

You started to protest, but were cut off by a voice behind you.  
"They are right, ju know..." Icy was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded.  
Everyone glanced up at him, seeming to have not noticed he was there. 

"If anyone should lure him out, it should be us," Icy continued, shifting to his other pede.  
"But you're all dinged up!" Bulkhead pointed out, pointing at him.  
Icy waved him off, shaking his helm. "It's of no matter. We KNOW Shockwave. Und he is looking for US anyways. We have ze highest chance of getting him to attack. " 

"Icy, you can't, he could kill you!" You exclaimed, standing up and walking over to him.  
"Perhaps...a compromise?" Prowl offered, and everyone looked his way.  
He was perched on the arm of a couch, and upon being looked at, he continued to speak. 

"Blitzwing DOES have the highest chance of getting Shockwave to reveal himself. If that is so, perhaps we could agree on utilizing that, and keeping everyone out of harms way.  
All we need is him to exit the parameters of the signal dampener long enough to gain Shockwave's attention, and then we get footage of him, and note his signatures energy.  
That would be the safest way." 

"Hmm....you're right, Prowl. Icy? Do you.. agree to this?" Optimus asked, looking to the Decepticon.  
Icy rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding.  
"But what if Shockwave finds out that you're working with Blitzwing? " You asked worriedly. 

"Then we maintain distance," Prowl answered calmly.  
"I wanna go!!" Bee shouted.  
"No, Bee, we can't have the whole crew out there," Optimus scolded, causing the speedster to pout.

"Maybe he should go." 

You glanced over to where Ratchet had entered the room from the other door.  
He looked very tired and worn out, as if something had kept him awake and in anguish for days.  
"He IS the fastest out of us, ain't he? He should be able to get the proof easier than us. He's good with this human technology....stuff..." 

"He's got a point, Prime," Bulkhead perked up, shrugging as the blue and red firetruck glanced his way. "I'm....surprised that YOU of all of us would suggest Bee, but....you're right, Ratchet. He should go."

"Hooray!" Bee threw his arms up.  
"But Prowl and I should go, too."  
Bee's arms went back down. "Awww, man. Don't ya trust me, Prime?"  
"I do, Bee. But Prowl is our best fighter, and I can't have you both going alone. I -am- your team leader, it's my duty to be out there with you. " Optimus stood up, clearing his throat. 

"Let's do this." 

***

You stroked Random's face, your chest tight as you thought of him going out there.  
"Please be safe....I need you to come back to me this time..." You murmured, tears filling your eyes.  
Random gently nuzzled against your chest, purring.  
"Ve will always return to ju, liebe..." 

He turned on all fours and headed down the ramp, waiting for confirmation from the autobots that they were in position. And then he took off, disappearing into the mist of the stormy evening. 

You sighed, hugging yourself and heading back inside.  
You were now alone, save for Bulkhead and Ratchet.  
Bulkhead was trying to be positive, but you noticed the way Ratchet behaved.  
He had shrunk a bit, was more standoffish.  
You should know what that looked like, having been raised in a house where everyone was constantly attacking you. 

You carefully walked into the med bay, where he was doing something on a counter.  
"Ratchet...?" You asked cautiously.  
You knew you'd yelled at him, but it was because of emotions. You really DID care about him.  
Something had been off this whole time, and you wanted to find out what it was. 

The medic didn't move, but he acknowledged you with a grunt.  
"I'm...sorry about earlier....I was just.... It's been...so, so weird lately..."  
He continued to examine whatever he had on the counter quietly, and so you continued.  
"I....I saw the way you looked earlier....and...it seems like something's really wrong. And I just...wanted to make sure you....I mean, I wanted to see what was going on..." 

Ratchet slowly straightened up, but he didn't speak.  
He turned and headed over to a computer mounted on a large desk type area, typing on a pad and furrowing his brows.  
You wanted to help him but it seemed he didn't want to talk. You turned, slowly heading to the door. 

"I'm sorry, again. I.....I care about you alot, just like the others, and...I just don't want you to be all alone. I'll...leave you to your work, sorry...."  
As you walked out, you heard him speak.  
"It's trauma, kid..."  
You turned back around, stepping back in. 

"What.. ?"  
Ratchet heaved a sigh, turning to look down at you.  
"It's....trauma. A lot of my past is coming back to haunt me, as it does. It just happened to come up at the wrong time..." 

***

"I don't get it. We've been out here for HOURS and he hasn't shown!" Bee complained, folding his arms.  
Prowl groaned. "Bee, we've been here for ONE hour, not multiple. And Shockwave is STEALTHY. And SMART. ...perhaps you could LEARN something from him in that regard..."

"Hey!" Bee frowned, pouting at Prowl.  
"Keep it down, will you?" Prowl murmured. "I'm trying to concentrate. "  
Bee mimicked him in a high tone, snapping another picture.  
"You're supposed to be taking a picture of Shockwave, not everything ELSE you see," Prowl reminded him, and Bee set the camera in his lap begrudgingly.  
*

Random was prowling around a less inhabited area of the city, keeping his audials tuned for any signs of Shockwave.  
It was odd that there was nothing yet.  
He couldn't possibly be gone.  
The mech growled, an uneasy feeling growing in his chest as time stretched on.  
*

"Sooooo why can't we com Optimus again?" Bee asked impatiently, bored out of his mind.  
"Because Shockwave could be monitoring commlinks, Bee," Prowl replied, an irritated edge slipping into his tone.  
They had been out here for two hours now, and it was beginning to get dark.  
And dealing with a bored Bee for longer than an hour was already excruciating enough. 

Bee was just about to leave their hideout spot under an old building's awning when Prowl yanked him back.  
"Don't move! Did you hear that?"  
"Ouch! Hear what??" Bee grumbled, brushing dirt off his frame.  
A small scraping noise echoed down the empty street, and both bots froze up, awaiting disaster. 

A small tin can skipped down the road in the wind, and the two relaxed slightly.  
"It's just a can, Prowl!" Bee whined,"you're so paranoid!"  
A split second later, a bright red lazer shot the can, splitting it into pieces. 

Smoke rose from the affected area, and Bee's optics widened. "uhhh....was that.... lightning maybe?"  
"I do NOT think that lightning would be so-" Prowl was cut off by a loud crash, and the building they rested against began to crumble.  
Bee and Prowl were thrown forward by a heavy pede, and both scrambled back, looking to see who had attacked them. 

"SHOCKWAVE!!!" Bee cried, hurriedly scrambling to take a picture.  
Prowl leaped to his feet, throwing his shuriken at the massive bot above them.  
Shockwave hissed, batting the blade away and swiping at the bots.  
Bee scurried to his pedes, still taking haphazard pictures. 

"Prowl lets GO, I've got it!!!"  
Prowl wanted to fight, but he knew that they could not defeat Shockwave alone.  
He turned and began speeding away.  
Bee transformed and drove quicky down the street, Shockwave not far behind. 

Optimus heard them coming in the distance.  
And despite the risk, he commed them.  
"Bee, Prowl, get back to base! I'm going after him!"  
He shut off his com, and as the bots approached, he leaped out, throwing his axe at the massive Decepticon. 

"Get out of here, I'll fight him off!"  
"You cannot defeat him alone!" Prowl insisted, but Optimus was persistent. "GO! That's an order!!!"  
Prowl hesitated, but complied, and the two autobots sped off towards the base.


	9. Where Does Your Loyalty Lie?

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
  
-WAC

Neun 

Bee and Prowl burst into the base, startling everyone.  
You looked up, eyes wide, seeing only the two bots instead of four.  
"Where are Optimus and Blitzwing??" You asked, and Prowl, panting, answered.  
"Shockwave attacked us. He stayed to fight him off, and ordered us to return. I am going back."

"You can't just go out there alone!" Ratchet grumbled as he walked into the room.  
"I am leaving Bee here with the footage. Optimus cannot handle Shockwave alone."  
"Let me go with you!" Bulkhead protested, and Prowl waved him off brusquely. 

"The base needs to be protected, Bulkhead. I have to go." The cyber-ninja turned and transformed again, speeding off.  
Ratchet facepalmed, shaking his helm.  
"These kids never listen, do they?" 

You felt sick.  
Optimus couldn't fight Shockwave, but Blitzwing couldn't either, could he?  
He was still injured. And you didn't ever want to see him and his brothers join into one giant bot again.  
Not after what happened last time. 

Bee, though complaining, walked over to a computer and began fiddling with it, seemingly unable to figure out how to attach the camera to it with the USB.  
You headed over to help him, hoping that keeping yourself distracted would hold off the growing knot in your stomach. 

***

Random paced back and forth anxiously as the sun set, red optics darting back and forth as he waited for Shockwave to make his appearance.  
But he sensed trouble, and upon hearing the cries of Optimus Prime, his fears were confirmed: Shockwave. 

He spun and took off, galloping in the direction the cries had come from.  
It didn't take him long to reach Optimus, seeing the small autobot being thrown into the air by Shockwave.  
He ran towards him, hissing loudly.

Shockwave threw Optimus down, stamping on him before swinging at Random.  
Random clamped down on his arm, twisting it harshly and growling.  
"You cannot defeat me as you did our Leader Megatron, Blitzwing!" Shockwave exclaimed, optic blazing. 

"I will not let you leave alive!" He continued, and slammed Random down on the ground.  
Random grunted, but drew himself back up, dodging another strike and climbing up the mech's back.  
Shockwave gasped in pain, trying to reach and claw him off, but the triple changer held fast. 

He began tearing at the mech's neck cabling, digging his claws deep into his shoulders.  
Suddenly, Shockwave stumbled back, and Random looked up to see Prowl.  
The mech had slammed himself into the massive Decepticon, and now had climbed him and was about to kick him in the optic when he was grasped between Shockwave's massive claws. 

Random attempted to reach out and grasp the mechs arm, but Shockwave used his stretching abilities to move Prowl out of reach.  
He slammed his back against a crumbling wall, knocking Random loose.  
Random hissed, rolling and springing back to his pedes, dodging a kick and coming up in front to attach himself to Shockwave's leg. 

Shockwave squeezed Prowl hard, hissing at Random and stumbling again before using his other arm to grab hold of Random's leg and yank at it.  
"Blitzwing! Go for his weak point!" Prowl exclaimed, and Shockwave looked at the autobot in surprise. 

"You're working with AUTOBOTS?" he scowled, squeezing Prowl harder as he began to squirm.  
Random took that moment to lunge at the mech's chest, sinking his teeth into his metal and ripping a large hunk out. 

Energon oozed out of the wound, and Shockwave grimaced, jamming his claw into Random's left optic and twisting.  
Random screeched, backing off to regain his bearings, and Prowl attempted an escape. 

"Blitzwing, move!" He shouted at Shockwave raised a pede over the mech, and Random rolled out of the way, shaking his helm from side to side.  
He could only see through one optic, and even then his vision was blurry.  
Shockwave, fed up with Prowl, slashed his claws across the mech's face and throat, marring him and then tossing him aside. 

Random knew he couldn't battle Shockwave for much longer.  
He flopped onto his side, panting.  
Shockwave walked over to him, smugly folding his arms and looking down at the Decepticon.  
"And now, I will take you back to Our Lord's ship....and deal with you properly..." 

At the last second, Random lunged up at Shockwave, biting into his side and ripping out a hunk of metal, protoform, and wiring.  
The mech cried out, falling backwards onto his skidplate in both surprise and pain. 

Random transformed, Hothead presenting himself soon after. He growled at the larger Decepticon, lifting his leg and stomping on the mech's kneecap, rendering one leg useless.  
The massive bot hissed loudly as his metal warped and creaked, and Hothead grimaced smugly. 

"I will find you..." Shockwave threatened, "and destroy everything you hold dear..."  
"Not if I kill you first," Hothead growled, preparing to battle the mech to the death any moment now. 

However, the smell of energon leaking from both Prowl and Optimus deterred him.  
He turned and hurried to the fallen mechs, scooping Optimus up and putting him over his shoulder before lifting Prowl up under his arm. 

He turned to glance at Shockwave again, heat rising in his throat behind clenched, bared dentae. He aimed one of his canons and shot it directly at Shockwave's throat, the heat warping into the metal and causing the mech's voice box to sputter. 

"We vill kill you. " He promised, before turning and heading into the storm. 

***

The doors were kicked open, Hothead stumbling inside with both Prowl and Optimus in his arms.  
"Medic!" He growled, and Ratchet hurriedly entered the room, optics widening.  
"What happened to them?!" He demanded, and Hothead hissed. "Just let me get zem to medbay!" He shouldered past Ratchet, limping slightly and taking the injured bots into the medical office. 

Ratchet hurried after him, and you rushed to the door, trying to stay out of the way but wanting to know what was going on.  
"Boss bot! Prowl!" Bee exclaimed, running after Ratchet.  
Bulkhead quickly pulled him back, "Easy, Bee. Whatever happened, they're hurt, and we'll just be in the way..."

Ratchet had begun hooking the two up and testing their vitals, face set in a worried but focused grimace.  
Once the two were stable, Ratchet turned to Hothead angrily.  
"What the HELL happened out there??? No one was supposed to get hurt!!"  
"VE DID ALL VE COULD!" Hothead spat, clenching his fists. 

"Well it clearly wasn't enough! Two of our BEST are lying on a table, and somehow, YOU'RE the only one standing! Care to explain to me, how that is?!"  
Hotheads temperature rose noticeably at this, and he bared his teeth.  
"YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT HAPPENED!" 

"Guys, PLEASE!!!" you interjected, trembling.  
You were afraid to get in the middle, but this arguing wasn't helping.  
Hothead immediately backed off, steam puffing from his nose before he transformed to Icy.  
Icy, a grimace on his face, began to speak.  
"We heard Optimus cry, and went to find him.  
He was injured, und before we could assist, Shockwave attacked. So we fought back, und Prowl got involved. 

We did what we could to battle Shockwave, but he injured Prowl before we could get very far.  
By feigning weakness, we were able to get the upper hand on him, but were only able to maim him.  
We would've finished him OFF, but we were MORE concerned for your AUTOBOTS and their lives." 

Ratchet scowled.  
"I don't BELIEVE you, " he hissed, folding his arms.  
"I betch'ure working with Shockwave. You WANTED this to happen!"  
"Ratchet, that's not really fa-" bulkhead began, but Icy put up a hand.  
"Nein. It iss fair. Und so, I will do what I must. JU clearly haven't. " 

He turned on his heel and marched through the main room, and everyone quickly followed.  
Icy entered the comms room, and walked to the array of buttons.  
He turned to face Ratchet, raising a brow.  
"Don't...you...DARE touch any of that!" Ratchet growled, but Icy ignored him. 

He looked at the array, and then tapped a few buttons.  
Before Ratchet could protest, the screen above flickered to life, and displayed that it was calling someone.  
And a moment later, Ultra Magnus himself answered the comm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence!  
Life's been weird lately. ♥️  
Thank you all for the kudos and comments, it truly does keep me motivated!


	10. Rearing It's Ugly Head

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
  
-WAC

Zehn

Such an unfathomable thing, trauma was.   
It could sit quietly, dormant, for decades; but at a moment's notice, it could awaken and crash down upon someone like a tidal wave, filling them with newfound pain and regret. 

It could rip open scarcely healed wounds, loosen the stitches of reality and sanity, and coalesce into something oftentimes much darker, and much more unbearable, than someone could have ever expected. 

It could render someone senseless, sightless, emotionless, and sometimes, lifeless; as if the very essence of living would be drained out, leaving only a sunken, ashen shell of the soul it berated.

Left alone it grew, like an ember taunted by the wind on a dry summer's night; unnoticed at first, but crescive in it's faculty.   
It would swell and amplify until it could no longer be forgotten, could no longer be cast beneath the rug. 

It was as if a creature, crouched, preparing to launch itself onto an unsuspecting victim.   
To show itself at the most unfavorable of times, leaving all those in it's wake startled and confused, like deer in headlights. 

This is precisely what agonized Ratchet every single day, gnawing at his insides like a twisted form of hunger.   
He was eternally battered and wrought with his pain and trauma, and oh, how it had aged him. 

Some things aged like wine, but this, this had aged him like rust and warpage.   
It took a great toll on him every day, and despite years of forcing it down into the shadowy pits of his processor, it came back. 

It wasn't Blitzwing's fault.   
But the events over the last year or two had finally pushed Ratchet to a breaking point.   
And he was doing his very best to hang on, for he was needed. 

And he would continue to do his best to survive his trauma, no matter how violently it reared it's ugly head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank a special member, salty_limeade, for their amazing comment on chapter nine.   
Without it, this story may not have continued.   
You all truly keep me going. 
> 
> Thank you all so much. We love you.


	11. The Breakdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a huge thanks to salty_limeade. You're a true angel that I adore with all my being. You're so sweet I can't even. 
> 
> So sweet that a part of me worries I'm being pranked, and that you're joking!!!
> 
> Expect more frequent updates now, y'all. 
> 
> Also P.S., look up a pronunciation of the german word Stille, meaning silence. And imagine it in Icys voice. Oof. Chills.

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Elf 

The look on Ultra Magnus' face was undescribable;  
his usually half-lidded optics were now wide open, the little metal rings around his pupils swirling and clinking as if trying to process what he was seeing over and over again. 

"What is the meaning of this???" He asked, his voice breaking slightly from it's usual cool demeanor.  
Icy, with a deadpan stare, furrowed his brows, optics narrowing at the man responsible for the Deception Outlaw Movement. 

The autobots were frozen behind Icy, and you stood close to him, but far enough back to see the screen.  
Your heart was pounding, and you were trying not to panic. 

Ratchet tried to reach in front of Icy, stammering: "It-its not what it looks like, Sir, this CRIMINAL was just being apprehen-" -"Stille!!!" Icy barked, his tone annoyed but tired. He used one arm to, surprisingly gently, push Ratchet back. 

Bulkhead took the hint and dared to gently tug the medics arm, whispering something to him that you didn't quite catch.  
The medic relented begrudgingly, folding his arms and glaring. 

"Magnus, listen," Icy began, shirking any attempt at pleasantries or respectful addresses.  
"Your Autobots here are in grave danger from ze enemy, Shockwave, and require your immediate backup. There iss no time to explain " 

"Where is Optimus Prime?" Magnus demanded, and Icy sighed. "We had a run-in with Shockwave, and he was injured. We-...THEY need your help. You can arrest me when you arrive, that is fine, I do not care. But if you truly CARE for your AUTOBOTS, you will come with haste. " 

He reached and hung up the call. 

Ratchet continued to glare. "...Are you HAPPY with yourself now???" He hissed, and Icy turned to him, curtly, a small smile spreading across his face.  
"Ja." He said, before leaving the room. 

You hurried after him, your stomach tightening.  
You caught up to him in the hallway, and he stopped, turning to look at you.  
"Icy!" You called out, running over. He immediately knelt and looked to you, face softening.  
"Liebe..." 

"Do you know what this means?? They're going to...to take you away if they find you!! You have to go, you have to leave! Right?"  
Icy chuckled, shaking his helm. "Nein...if they wish to arrest me, so be it. I have done nothing wrong. " 

"I won't leave you! If they take you, I'm going too!" You said, pulling up your sleeves.  
Icy smiled a bit, looking you in the eyes.  
"Kleine liebe...my precious Engel...I would never let anything bad happen to you if I could help it...you know that, ja?" 

You nodded, fearing where he was going with this.  
You felt an ever-growing knot in your stomach that was gnawing at you. 

He reached down, stroking your cheek with his fingertips.  
"You helped us when we needed you most...und you didn't even realize it...We are grateful to you for that, forever...And I know there is no point in babying you, or telling you no...And so, I will just plead this; please, do not get hurt for us. Ja? We love you too much to see you hurt because of us."

You felt your lip tremble.  
A surge of emotion and adrenaline rushed through you, making your face turn red and your eyes burn with tears.  
You took a step forward, attempting to be tall and intimidating.  
You pointed a finger at him, trying to hold back your tears. 

"You listen to me, Icy," you said, voice already quivering.  
"I don't CARE what happens to me. You would DIE for me, and you've proven that. And from what happened when we met, I'm going to assume you realize that I'd die for you, too.  
So I don't NEED to promise or agree to not get hurt. Because if we go down, then we go down together, or not at all. I will NOT stand down. NEVER. " 

The mech before you stiffened up a bit, but his features remained soft.  
He tightened his jaw, furrowing his brows a bit.  
"I understand..."

You continued. 

"A-and you're all WORTH getting hurt for. You're WORTH the risks, the danger. Because you're people TOO. You're just...BIGGER than me...and...made of metal...But you still have a SOUL inside of there. Four of them. And I would sacrifice everything in my entire life to keep you safe! " 

Icy continued to listen to you, crimson optics flickering over your face as he seemed to take in each and every word you spoke.  
"And...and I need you to TRUST me...to-to let me DO this...because you're part of my purpose...my reason for being here...and I can't do this without you..." 

Tears began to roll down your face, and you looked away to regain your composure.  
"Liebe..." Icy spoke gently, placing his hand on your shoulder and urging you to look at him.  
You slowly complied, blinking the tears away.  
"You are precious to me, you know...Und I would destroy a thousand suns to keep you safe...And I want you to know that your fight does matter. We see you. As an equal. Not a prize. And if this is what you want to do, we will do it with you. 

"Survive for us, und we will survive for you, ja?" 

You swallowed, nodding slowly.  
He sank to the floor, pulling you into his arms and cradling you close to him.  
"Ich liebe dich," he murmured.  
"I love you too, Icy..." You whispered, "all of you..." 

***

Back on Cybertron, Ultra Magnus had informed his team of the most recent turn of events, and was in Council with them as they decided what to do next. 

"We should go there and arrest ALL of them for treason!" Sentinel exclaimed, following it with a stammered "Sir".  
"Cool it, SP," Jazz soothed coolly, raising a hand in a stilling motion.  
"We gotta be reasonable about this, now don't we?" He continued. 

Ultra Magnus rubbed his forehelm, sighing.  
"This could be a trick to lure us onto Earth," he muttered. ""Shockwave IS known for his antics in tech disruption and footage corruption..." 

"But what if the Autobots are in real trouble, Sir?" Jazz queried with concern. "We can't just leave them to die. Especially if OP is really hurt..." 

"Well, that's their fault isn't it? For coupling with the enemy!!!" Sentinel barked, fists balled with rage.  
Jazz looked at the blue and gold bot with concern, shaking his helm. "That word doesn't mean what you think it means, SP..." 

"Who cares what word I use?! I'm trying to make a POINT!!! whose side are you ON??" 

"Silence, PLEASE," Ultra Magnus begged, voice laced with stress. "We have the resources to take precautions. If Optimus and his team need our assistance, we shall be there. But if things get out of hand, we have our own lines of defense..." 

"Are you thinkin what I think you are, Magnus Sir?" Jazz asked, brows raising.  
Magnus nodded. "See that THEY are ready for transport..." 

***

"Ratchet, there's no need to shout..." Bulkhead said timidly. "You don't comprehend what that MUTANT just DID, do you??? They're going to come here and take us all back to Cybertron, maybe in STASIS CUFFS, and this planet will be doomed!!!  
All because he had some self righteous THING to prove to..." Ratchet trailed off, still shaking with anger. 

"To me? To you?" You asked, walking into the room.  
"Because you've got no idea what he's just sacrificed to save your asses! He could be executed! And yet he did what he HAD to do, because you wouldn't. And that's more commendable than anything you've brought to the table today!" You hissed, heart pounding. 

Ratchets eyes widened.  
"You've got...NO idea...what I've sacrificed, you tractable little rascal!" he hissed, slowly walking closer to you. He jutted a digit at you, his whole frame beginning to shake. "You've got NO idea of what I've seen, and suffered through, and for that, I'm grateful....But don't you DARE tell me that that Decepticon, who is responsible for COUNTLESS lives lost, has sacrificed MORE for Cybertronian-kind, let alone OUR team, than myself...." 

You backed up, slightly afraid.  
What had gotten into him?  
Your fierce defense for Icy and the boys, however, kept you from running from the room. 

You forced yourself to look at Ratchet, in the eyes, and you were becoming so startled and confused that it almost made you cry again.  
Why was he...shaking that way? He was angry, but underneath it he looked....looked wounded? Broken? You couldn't tell. 

"I....I'm sorry..." You whimpered, tears finally breaking free and making their damp descent down your paling cheeks.  
Ratchet stopped moving towards you, covering his face with one shaking hand and making an anguished sound, hunching over. 

He took a few steps back, shaking his head and taking a shuddering breath.  
"I....shouldn't have yelled at you like that...it....it was a mistake..." He mumbled, voice quivering slightly. 

A shaky cough made everyone jump.  
Optimus stood in the doorway, leaning heavily against it. "Ratchet...?" He asked weakly, blinking. "What's going on...?"  
Ratchet quickly snapped back into medic mode, hurrying to the bot and tsking. 

"Nothing to worry yourself over, you should be resting!" He growled, helping the bot limp back to his medslab.  
"We've got to have you strong enough for when then arrive," the doctor continued.  
"Who...?" Prime mumbled. 

Ratchet sighed grimly before responding. 

"The Elite Guard..."


	12. The Dead of Night

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
  
-WAC

Zwölf

Ultra Magnus's ship made it's descent towards Earth, and the Captain put through a call to the Autobot Base.  
Ratchet answered it this time, seemingly not too thrilled.  
"Medical Officer Ratchet, what is the status on Optimus Prime?"  
"He is mostly stable, but he's not up for communication." 

"And where is the enemy Blitzwing?" 

"He's...around here somewhere. " 

"Have you not apprehended him yet?" Ultra Magnus sounded mildly sarcastic. 

"Not...as of yet, Sir..." 

"We will discuss this heinous act of.... traitorous behavior when we arrive. We are breaching Earth's outer reaches as we speak.  
What are your coordinates?" 

"That is information we cannot give, due to Shockwave running amok...I'm sure you understand, Sir..." 

Ultra Magnus's expression was sour, and he seemed displeased by this.  
"I'm sure YOU understand that without your location, we cannot apprehend your prisoner...and that, in itself, is plenty enough reason to arrest each and every one of you, no matter the condition you are in.  
Give us your coordinates."

"And if Shockwave makes an appearance?" Ratchet grumbled as he typed them in and sent them.  
"Then we will apprehend him. We have proper means to do so. " 

"And what might those be?" Ratchet asked coyly, with a raised eyebrow. 

"Classified." Ultra Magnus said curtly, before ending the call. Ratchet growled, rubbing his forehead. "Fraggin high-end mechs...thinking they know everything...tch... sick of this slag..." 

***

It was dark in your room.  
You laid in bed, too upset to sleep, bundled under your covers and staring at the wall.  
There were many thoughts swirling in your head, including what had happened with Ratchet. 

He was so angry, and you'd never seen him that way.  
But the whole ordeal had shaken you deeply, and you kept hearing his anguished exclamation every time you attempted to fall asleep. 

You heard a noise from behind you, and froze up.  
Was it Shockwave?? Lockdown?? Had they come for you?! Despite your depression, the fear seeped into you like a fog, and you found it very hard to move. 

You only relaxed when you felt a familiar tongue lick your shoulder.  
"Random..." You murmured. "You scared me to death..."  
Random purred, nudging into your back until you finally rolled over to see his face.  
"Es tut uns leid..." He said quietly, whining apologetically. 

You couldn't help but smile a little.  
"It's okay..."  
"Can't sleep?" He queried, moving slightly closer.  
You shook your head. "No, not at all..." You sighed heavily, "I can't stop thinking about all of this...and how scary Ratchet was earlier....he...called you a mutant..." 

Random's bright red eyes flickered to yours, before moving to look at the floor.  
"...Ja, he did, did he? I'm...not surprised..."  
"Why does he hate you so much? He....said you were responsible for thousands of lives lost...."  
"Because of the war." 

You looked up at him.  
He looked sad, but you couldn't fully tell due to how dark the room was. 

"What...?" 

"The War. Our war. On Cybertron..." Random continued.  
He heaved a great sigh. "When Megatron found Blitzwing, and then we were created by another scientist, named Blackarachnia, he used us as a War machine. He forced this...this control-set onto us, deep into our coding...

We think it was an attempt to make us give up our brother but it didn't work. On the...other hand, it did make us have to obey every OTHER order he gave. Und he used that to his advantage...and made us...kill...many, many of our kind. Thousands..." 

You felt pain rising in your chest, and Random shook his head, blinking a few times. 

"Und... we could not fight it off. It took decades for us to be able to dull it enough zat it was rendered all but useless. It could still be knocking around in zere, I don't know...but Megatron iss dead...so let's hope we never find out. " 

You got off the bed and walked over to him, sitting down on the floor and reaching to pet his face.  
"I still love you just the same, Random...all four of you.."  
Random blinked, slowly looking up at you.  
His pupils dilated a bit, and he made a deep purring sound in his chest and throat. 

This was going to be a long night...but at least you had them. 

***

The Elite Guard's mini-vessel finally touched down on Earth, shaking from the impact.  
Sentinel began groaning about how terrible Earth was, but Ultra Magnus paid him no mind.  
Just as he was about to give the command to dismount, something slammed against the doors, rattling the ship. 

"What was THAT?" Jazz exclaimed, slowly approaching the doors. "Stop, Jazz. We've no idea what is lurking about on this planet. If you must proceed, proceed with caution. But I suggest checking the scanners first. It could be some Earth creature. " Jazz looked to Magnus and nodded, heading off to check. 

"It'd better not be any of those wretched humans," Sentinel grumbled, folding his arms. "Those things will spit slime at you! ....Er...don't worry, Sir...I will PERSONALLY defend you..."  
Magnus rolled his optics, preparing a smart response when Jazz returned. 

"Uhhh, Sir? You might wanna check this out...I think we've got a cloaker..."  
"A what??" Sentinel barked.  
Magnus followed Jazz to the controls room, looking at the screen.  
"Now there's us, see?" Jazz pointed to a small locater screen with blips on it.  
"But then there's this heat sig comin from here...and now it's here... it's...circlin us, but when I pull up a visual, ain't nothin there..." 

Magnus scowled. "Perhaps it is best that we take precautions...Sentinel, release the experiments..."  
Sentinel all but pouted, "But Sir, I can handle this one-" "NOW, Sentinel!" Ultra Magnus barked sternly. 

Sentinel would have jumped, had he not been so full of himself. "Yes, Sir!" He grumbled, turning and hurrying to the back of the ship. 

***

The vessel was surrounded by smoke and an eery fog when the doors noisily opened. A few figures shot out of the opening, into the darkness, and the doors closed once again.

The two forms darted almost noiselessly into the trees, scanning for anything out of the ordinary.  
They spoke to eachother in a crude, growling form of Cybertronian before circling back around. 

Suddenly, from the silence, a loud shot was heard.  
A yelp followed by hissing and growling echoed throughout the grassy clearing, and a tall figure slowly revealed itself.  
"Well, I'll be..." A deep, rugged voice with a hint of a Southern twang drawled, as the figure yanked on the wire attached to the harpoon he'd shot. 

"Looks like I've caught me somethin new, eh?"  
The form on the ground hissed and struggled against the harpoon now nested into it's leg, and the mech above it just continued to chuckle.  
"Designation J.E.T.-fire, class 487, codenumber 26352678...Number 18 out of 18 experiments....I never thought I'd get my hands on a bounty quite like YOU..." 

Jetfire hissed again, spitting and sputtering in a type of Cybertronian that Lockdown couldn't understand.  
It was a specific dialect only Seekers could interpret.  
"Ahh, save it, will ya? If there's one of ya, the other's gotta be close by. Now...just sit tight and shut up, okay?" The figure tucked his harpoon gun over his shoulder and pulled out a smaller gun, aiming it at J.E.T.fire and shooting him three times in the throat. 

The hybridized Cybertronian whined and fell still, gold optics closing.  
The tall figure tsked, beginning to eerily whistle as he made his way towards the landed Elite ship.  
He pushed a button, and a device on him somewhere beeped, shrouding him in an invisibility shield. 

There came a cry, skyward, and he turned to look as a quick, nimble blue and silver form shot down towards Jetfire. He grabbed his harpoon gun and shot it at the creature, yanking it out of the sky. 

It crashed to the ground, and the mech promptly switched guns and shot it.  
"Tss...overeager experiments.... I'll tell ya what, they're mighty unintelligent for sumn' that's part Seeker..." 

He continued towards the ship, preparing to announce his prescence. 

***

You awoke with a start. Something was wrong.  
You looked over to see Random, still beside you but his eyes were wide, pupils thin and he was panting.  
"...Mmm...Random, what's...wrong?" You rubbed your eyes, noticing a feeling of dread deep in your stomach. 

"I don't know," he murmured, "but something iss wrong...We have to check."  
He slowly got up onto all fours, and you stumbled to your feet, prepared to follow him.  
He growled, standing in front of the doors."Random, let me come with you..." 

He yielded, rolling his head and stepping out.  
It was then that you heard muffled static and a loud pinging.  
Random rushed ahead, following it down the hall.  
You ran after him clumsily, and saw him frozen, peeking into the comms room. 

They were getting an incoming call. 

"Go alert Ratchet!" Random growled, padding further into the room. You turned and hurried to the med bay, where Ratchet was...asleep? His head in his hands and a low rumbling noise coming from him. 

"Ratchet..." You tentatively whispered, inching closer to him. The gentle beeps of the vital monitors hooked up to Prowl and Optimus echoed alongside the sound of your bare feet padding across the floor. 

"R...Ratchet...?" You tried, a little louder. You reached out and touched his leg.  
Immediately he jerked awake, optics wide.  
"What??? What's going on??? Get away from me!" He barked, standing up and backing away. 

He was looking around the room wildly, seeming to not see you.  
You stumbled back, heart pounding.  
After a moment he seemed to calm a little, and you hesitantly tried speaking. "Ratchet...? It's... it's Y/N... It's okay...We need your help, there's a call incoming..." 

He looked down at you, cyan optics glowing in the deep, shadowy blue room, accompanied only by the blinking lights from the monitors and medical equipment.  
"O-oh..." He mumbled, letting out a shaky yet strangely relieved sigh. "Right...er...forgive me..." 

He walked around you and out of the room. You followed soon after, mind racing. 

When he entered the comms room, Ratchet shooed Random out of the way before looking to the screen.  
"It's Ultra Magnus, be quiet," he grumbled, before hitting accept call.  
But it wasn't Magnus's face that projected across the screen. 

You felt a wave of sheer horror wash over you as you recognized the face grinning back through the monitor. 

"Well, hello there, little Autobot...long time no see..." Lockdown purred.


	13. After All This Time

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Dreizehn

"Since everyone here already knows who I am, I don't need to do the whole spiel, so I'll just cut to the chase, yeah?" Lockdown continued, a smirk cut into his rugged features. 

Your heart hammered in your chest, threatening to lunge out and escape, leaving you to drown alone in the icy dread that encapsulated you.  
The last time you saw this monster, he was threatening to cut you into little pieces. 

This time, he was probably here to slaughter the Elite Guard. You didn't feel much pity for Sentinel, if you were honest, but these people were still very important.  
And you felt sick wondering what this bastard was going to do to them. 

"Now, I'd like to think I'm a very GENEROUS man," Lockdown purred, and Ratchet, who you just now noticed was clenching his trembling fists, made a low, growling sound.  
"Just spit it out, will you?" He demanded. 

"Awww, don't be like that, Ratch..." The bounty hunter winked. "As I was SAYING...I still haven't gotten ahold of my bounty...and thus, haven't gotten ahold of my reward...And, seeing as how I'm HERE, and you're THERE...well, let's just say things could start going wrong very, very quickly..." 

"What do you WANT, you bucket of warpage?!" Ratchet hissed, grasping the control panels tightly.  
"I'm gettin' there, old timer..." Lockdown chuckled.  
"See, here's how things are gonna go. You're gonna get Blitzwing, and have him all ready in nice little stasis cuffs, before I get from my location, to yours. That sound good?" 

"And if we don't?!" You heard yourself yell, startling yourself. You hadn't meant to say anything. 

Lockdown fixed his eyes on you, sending a chill down your spine. "Well then, little missy, I kill the Elite Guard, their experiments, and then I come and take each and every one of your precious babysitters' guts as souvenirs..." 

Your chest tightened, and you felt like you were going to retch.  
Lockdown continued, "We wouldn't want that, would we? Now, given that my buyer could, at any time, double my rewards to bring in your corpses, I'd hurry along and get to givin..." 

"What happens to the elite Guard?" Ratchet growled.  
"Oh... they'll be fine, don't worry. They're a bargaining chip, not a bounty. "

Ratchet went to speak again, but Random cut in.  
"I'll go. Willingly." He said, shifting and standing, and letting Icy forward.  
He came to face the screen, and Lockdown chuckled. "Ohhh, how sad....I do enjoy when they put up a fight. Now, I'll be there in an hour. No later. Don't try anything either. If you try anything, or I think you are, the Elite Guard dies...." 

He stepped aside, revealing the Elite Guard all in stasis cuffs and unconscious. Strapped to them was what appeared to be a bomb of some sort, placed strategically on each of their chests, where their sparks were. 

He waved his hand, showing you all a small remote device, with a red button on the end.  
"See you soon..." 

The screen went black, and Ratchet visibly relaxed.  
"What are you THINKING?" He hissed at Icy, and the mech furrowed his brows.  
"Showing signs of concern for us was not something I would have thought you interested in, Medic..." 

"Yeah, well if anything happens to YOU, THAT one will destroy the planet himself trying to find you," Ratchet grumbled, pointing to you. "Besides, my main concern is for that rust bucket slaughtering my Team. "  
You were shaking, tears threatening to spill over.  
This was all your fault. It had to be. And now everything was going to shit, and there was no way out of it. 

Icy immediately turned and knelt beside you, placing his hand on your back.  
"Liebe...talk to me...?"  
Ratchet stepped out, and you burst into tears.  
"This is all my fault!!! And there's no way to fix it, and everyone's going to die! And-and I'm never gonna see you again! And all because of some-some shitty cowboy!!!"

"Oh, come now, liebe...this isn't your fault at all.  
Und no one is going to die. "  
"But there's nothing we can do! And Optimus is still hurt, and Prowl's still hurt and Lockdown's too strong!"  
You continued to cry, unable to speak any longer. 

Your chest ached and your body heaved for what felt like hours, until finally you stopped.  
Your eyes hurt and your nose throbbed, and your throat wasn't pleased at all. 

Icy looked down at you, eyes full of concern.  
"Y/N," he said calmly, "we are going to be alright. Usually...we would just let ourselves be taken, und that's that. But...we promised you that we would survive for you. Und we will. " 

You wiped at your tears, still trembling.  
"Do you...*sniff*...have a plan?"  
Icy smiled, nodding. "Oh, yes. We definitely do. But it requires us being taken. " 

"What?? But-but you can't!" You cried. 

"Liebe, liebe, listen...if we don't, Lockdown could hurt you all. I cannot talk alot about zis plan, for your safety. But know that I will return to you. Alive. "  
You started to cry again. "Please, you can't..." 

Icy grasped your face and tilted it, looking into your eyes. "Do you trust me?"  
You slowly nodded, sniffing again.  
"Good. Then trust that we will handle this. I swear it to you. " 

***

Ratchet announced that he had to take Icy away from Base, and you felt sick again as Icy prepared himself.  
No one would tell you why they had to leave. But Ratchet and Icy shared a look. 

Icy turned to you.  
"We're going to be alright, liebe. "  


You started to breathe rapidly, panicking.  
"Shh-shh-shh," Icy murmured, kneeling and placing his forehead against yours.  
"Du bist unser Einziger..." He whispered, before getting up and letting Ratchet open the outer doors. 

You didn't know what he'd said, but it still made your chest even tighter.  
You hurried after them, waiting at the doorway.  
Ratchet led Icy out, shaking his head at you. "Stay inside, Y/N...we don't want things getting messy and you getting hurt..." 

"But where are you going???"

The massive metal doors closed, leaving you inside. 

***

Lockdown stepped out of his ship, walking down the ramp and approaching the mechs outside.  
Ratchet released Icy and backed away.  
Icy walked towards Lockdown, optics cold and emotionless. 

Lockdown grinned, "Well, well, well...look what we have here..." He grasped Icy by the cuffs, chuckling and starting to pull him up towards the ship.  
"And what about the Elite Guard?" Ratchet growled. 

Lockdown turned to look at the medic, a glint in his eye. "Oh, they're with me. And they're coming back with me, as well. " 

"But-you said..." Ratchet stammered, optics widening.  
"Guess I lied..." Lockdown scoffed, before shoving Icy onto the ship and lifting the ramp.  
Ratchet took a few steps toward the ship as the doors sealed, but the blast from the ship's takeoff knocked him backwards. 

"Fraggin bounty hunter!!!" Ratchet exclaimed, spark pounding. What was he going to do? Half his team was injured, and now it was solely up to him.  
He shook himself off, gritting his teeth.  
Slag. Now he had to tell Y/N.

***

Lockdown threw the mech up against a wall, grimacing at him. "I've got a bone to pick with you, you mangy scrap heap..." He leaned close, gripping the mechs throat.  
"And a HAND...and a signal dampener...But my client wants you in one piece, unfortunately. So I've got to be NICE to you..." 

He lifted his hook, slicing across the mechs cheek and drawing energon.  
Icy remained silent, expressionless as he stared the bounty hunter down. 

Lockdown reached down to his hip, lifting out a gun.  
He pushed it against Icys neck and fired, rendering the mech unconscious. 

***

"What are we gonna do?" You asked, lip trembling.  
You refused to continue to cry, however. You had to be strong now.  
Ratchet finally had returned, and informed you of what happened. Bulkhead and Bee had finally woken, (Ratchet had wanted SOMEONE to have rest) and had been caught up on the night's events. 

Ratchet sighed, rubbing his face.  
"I don't know, kid. I'm going to be honest with you. We're slagged..." 

You bit your lip. "When I was on board Lockdown's ship, he told me that his client was going to use me as bait...to draw out Blitzwing...But not many people know that Blitzwing and I are...conjuxed...so, he'd have practically no way to know that would work...Unless...''

Your mind started racing, and you began trying to fit the pieces together.  
"Wait...what if...what if whoever Lockdown's client is, also somehow heard the call or could see the coordinates you sent Ultra Magnus? Then they could find us, regardless of the dampener, right???" 

"Well, yes...but...no," Ratchet muttered. "Because they didn't GET our coordinates..."  
You looked up. "But...but I thought you..."  
Ratchet shook his head. "Ultra Magnus didn't get OUR coordinates...I gave him the wrong ones. I gave him coordinates to an old construction warehouse a good ways away from us. " 

"That's where you went???"  
"Yes. I couldn't tell you in case anyone was listening."

"But...what would you have said when the Elite Guard got there?"  
"I knew Lockdown might show up."  
"What..?" 

Ratchet sighed.  
"I've got...history with Lockdown. And I knew he'd show up eventually. Thus, to keep both us and the Elite Guard safe, I gave them the wrong coordinates." 

"So...you think he was monitoring the comm links?" Bee asked. 

"Maybe...and if not him, well..." 

"Uh oh... you're not thinking who I think you're thinking, are you, doc bot?" Bulkhead asked with a worried tone. 

Ratchet nodded gravely. "Unfortunately, I am..." 

***

A sharp pain ran through Icy's body, causing him to open his optics.  
Lockdown was holding an electric rod, grinning smugly. "Morning, sunshine...Welcome to your new home." 

Icy looked around, noticing he was in a cell, stasis cuffs still on.  
He glared up at Lockdown. 

"My client is here. And once he makes sure you're in tip top shape, well... I'm outta here. Just be glad he wants you alive..."  
A door opened and footsteps approached.  
Icy looked up, seeing a large figure moving towards him. 

"That will do, Lockdown. Your payment has been sent." A familiar voice said.  
Lockdown grunted, nodding. "If he escapes, he's mine," the hunter growled, before turning and walking away. 

The familiar form of Shockwave stepped into view.  
"After all this time...we meet again...Blitzwing..."


	14. Hide and Seeker

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Vierzehn

Icy sat still, facing the towering, lithe form of Shockwave.  
The one eyed mech stared the triple changer down menacingly, clenched claws folded behind his back.  
He was attempting to remain calm. 

His damaged leg was still obvious; weld marks remained, as well as warped metal and the fact that it trembled every so often from his weight. 

Icy continued to scrutinize the mech, noting weaknesses and strong points.   
Anything that would assist in their swift escape. 

"It is truly such a shame, is it not?" Shockwave spoke, and Icy casually looked up at him.   
The heliotrope-shaded mech slowly turned, pacing back and forth. 

"Despite this traitorous behavior, you are a capable and dedicated Decepticon. It would be so unfortunate to have to destroy you..." 

Icy raised an eyebrow, slightly unprepared for what the mech was about to say next. 

"I could forgive what you have done to our Leader, Megatron. He was becoming old, and weak. It was only natural for a Decepticon to put him out of his miserable reign. But your reasoning was misplaced. " 

This was so absolutely unlike Shockwave.   
The mech was obsessed with Megatron. He worshipped the ground he walked on.   
For him to so nonchalantly say this, made even Icy surprised. 

"You did not end his reign with dignity. You did it to spare the insolent and unimportant lives of a few measly Autobots and a human. However, even so...I would be willing to let you reclaim your rank in the Decepticon Army..." 

The mech continued pacing, glancing to Icy every so often. "I don't want your brother. I don't even want your human pet...I would only expect ONE thing of you..." 

Icy scoffed, shaking his helm. 

"Kill the Elite Guard and your little Autobot pets..." 

Icy laughed this time, a slight smirk on his face.   
"As tempting as it may be to stomp the Elite Guard's aggravating faces into ze dirt, I must decline your most generous offer." 

Shockwave stopped, turning to face the mech.   
"Oh...I had gathered you'd say that. And that is why...I will MAKE YOU do it. Megatron's ancient processor-manipulation tech remains embedded within your mind...and when I complete the remote to USE the tech, I can control you. And I can make you destroy the entire PLANET of Earth if I so choose..." 

Icy's smirk faded.   
He couldn't have a way to use it, could he?

ZAT IS A LIE!

Nein, brüder. Ze tech may remain. But it iss so old, he would have to access our mind to find it and update it. And so far, he hasn't. As long as we don't let him, we will be safe. 

"I will leave you to think it over...and then I will ask you one last time. And if you refuse me again, there is no going back." 

The mech stalked from the hall, disappearing around the corner. His steps faded and some doors closed, and then there was silence. 

Icy looked around the Containment Hall, trying to think.   
Was there a way to jump the system?   
No, Shockwave was smart. He had probably already fixed all the circuitry.

Something caught his eye.   
He shuffled closer to the heavy, electricity-fueled bars,   
peering at the cell farther down the hall.   
Was that...Starscream...? 

The thin but sharp Seeker Commander was huddled in a ball, red optics closed. His breathing was slow, slightly labored, and his wings were pinned down.   
He looked possibly injured. 

Icy bit his lip.   
He was part Seeker himself, right? Seeker genetics had been used in the process to create the Triple Changer, and that meant...

He searched their memory banks and data, looking for even the slightest bit of...there it was.   
Seeker dialect.   
The branch of Cybertronian that only Seekers and those with Seeker genetics could understand. 

He'd never spoken it before, but he was going to try.   
Because Shockwave definitely had some sort of listening or spying tech, and he wanted to attempt to speak to the Seeker privately. 

He closed his optics, taking a deep breath. 

He began to speak, slightly garbled at first, but eventually it began to flow more evenly.*

|•Starscream...Can you hear me...? Can you... understand me? •|

((*I'm just going to put what is said in English so you can understand it :) carry on. ))

The Seeker's optics flew open, and he looked up at Icy.   
He growled, hissing. 

|•I know ju are scared...And you probably don't trust me. But I want to help you. And I need your help, as well.•|

The Seeker lowered his head onto the floor, but continued to watch the Triple Changer.  
Icy continued.   
|• I'm presuming you are in here because you don't agree with Shockwave. Is that correct? •|

Starscream tilted his head side to side. 

|• Did...he harm you? Did...Megatron harm you? •| 

Starscream whined, backing further into his cell and lowering his optics. 

|• I understand...He hurt us, too. But he is gone now. And soon, so will Shockwave. But we need your help. We cannot escape the ship alone. Shockwave has most likely rebuilt the defenses due to last time. But you're faster and lighter than us. We need you to disable the weapons and sheilds of the ship. Can you do that? •| 

Starscream growled, but nodded once.   
|• Is your clutch onboard? •| 

The Seeker shook his head once. 

|• Are they free? •| 

A nod. 

|• Good. The Elite Guard should be on board, as well as...their new projects. J.E.T.fire and J.E.T.storm I believe. I need to rescue them. •| 

Starscream hissed at the mention of the Elite Guard. 

|• I know, I know. But we have to rescue them. Otherwise, he will kill zem. And as much as they AREN'T my problem, it's the right thing to do.   
When we break our cuffs, we can deactivate the electrical system. We will need you to release us and then we will go and find the Guard. Meet us at the old exit. Shockwave won't be expecting that. •| 

The Seeker nodded once. 

Doubt swarmed over the mech for a moment.   
What if Starscream was planted here and now was going to tell Shockwave what he'd just said? 

He pushed it aside.   
Seekers had the ability to feel other's and their intentions in a deeply connected way, and he hadn't felt anything of the sort just yet.   
If the plan was sabotaged, he'd just make a new one. 

|•Are you ready? •| 

Nod. 

|• Drei...Svei...Ein...Now.•| 

Icy's body began shifting and growing, creaking as the form of Hothead slowly appeared.   
His arms and wrists were much larger than Icy's, and the stasis cuffs couldn't handle the pressure. 

They snapped off, hitting the floor.   
He jammed an arm through the bars and up towards the wiring system on the wall by the doorway, shooting it. It sparked and then started to smoke.   
The bars stopped humming and crackling.   
Hothead shot the panel connected to Starscreams cell, the bars slowly lowering into the floor. The Seeker immediately darted to Hothead. 

Starscream deactivated the cell, turning and bolting from the hall. 

When the cell was open, Hothead ducked out and activated his scanners, searching for the Elite Guard.   
He found them in a dark room, in a containment chamber instead of a cell.   
They were all still unconscious, in stasis cuffs. In another chamber beside them lay the Seeker twins. They were awake. 

Hothead slammed his fist into the glass of the one with the twins, and it cracked. Seeming to understand what he was doing, the twins began kicking it from the inside.   
"You're going to be alright, don't worry!" Hothead growled, continuing to punch at it. 

A moment later, the lights and electricity in the room shut off. Starscream must have disconnected the system. Clever.   
The containment chambers opened automatically, and the twins limped out.   
They were injured, Hothead noted. 

"Can ju move?? Quickly??" He asked, and the two looked at eachother.   
A second later, the two began transforming, but instead of transforming into a jet or any alt mode for that matter, they began...morphing together? 

One side was Jetfire, one side was Jetstorm.   
The now singular mech opened it's optics, looking to Hothead and nodding.   
Hothead blinked, but shrugged the surprise off and went to collect the Elite Guard. 

He heaved Sentinel and Jazz over his shoulders, and looked at the twins. "Can you carry him??" He nodded towards Ultra Magnus.   
They hissed, but approached the unconscious mech, dragging him up and onto their back. 

Suddenly, a sharp pain made Hothead stumble.   
He looked up to see Shockwave in the doorway, weapons aimed.   
"Drop them!" The cyclopian mech barked, but Hothead refused. 

The purple mech took a step closer, aiming to fire at Hothead's legs in an attempt to ground him.   
He was cut short as the ship lurched to a halt, sending him crashing into a wall. 

Hothead and the twins hurried out, leaving the mech to attempt to regain his footing. Hothead spun around, eyeing a large oil tank in the corner of the room that served as fuel reserve.   
He fired his canon at it, and it immediately exploded. 

Fire engulfed the room, and as the group hurried towards the old exit, Hothead continued to shoot the ceiling, where the fuel lines were.   
The fire continued to swell and reached the now leaking fuel, causing explosions behind them. 

Hothead pointed to a small room at the end of the hall, "DOWN HERE!" he called, and the seeker twins jumped.   
The Triple Changer followed, and they all landed on the floor in the dark. 

Starscream hissed, and Hothead rushed forward.   
"We have to go NOW. The fire is right behind us!"   
The Seeker immediately slammed down a lever, the old, rusting exit door slowly lowering. 

The explosions were rocking the ship, and the fire was closing in on them.   
"When we get out, we have to fly!" Hothead barked. 

The door finally opened enough for them to start getting out.   
Hothead demanded that the twins and Starscream go first. The fire erupted into another explosion, sweeping over Hothead and the Guard just as the Triple Changer managed to squeeze them all through the opening. 

Burned and in some pain, Hothead used both his rockets and wings to steer haphazardly through the night.  
Surprisingly, Shockwaves ship was right above Earth.   
Hothead jerked to one side.   
Carrying a mech under each arm wasn't easy at all, and Sentinel weighed alot more than Jazz. 

Eventually the ship was out of sight, and Hothead started losing altitude.   
He began barreling towards the Earth, and had just enough time to brace for impact before crashing into the ground.


	15. Betraying Your Own

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Fünfzehn 

Hothead opened his optics.   
He was laying in the dirt, sunken into it from the impact. Jazz and Sentinel lay sprawled nearby, where they must have landed when he hit the ground.   
He slowly sat up, grunting and looking around for Starscream and the twins. 

They were nowhere to be found. 

Ultra Magnus was sat up against a tree, still unconscious. They must have left him there.   
He understood why they probably left.   
Seekers were free creatures, and Starscream had to go find his trinemates. As for the twins? He didn't know anything about them, but they HAD been injured. 

And he couldn't blame them for not wanting to hang around the Elite Guard when they woke up.   
Speaking of, he heard a groan next to him and looked over to see the now dirty white form of Jazz slowly struggling to his knees. 

Icy shifted back, standing up and walking over.   
He offered his hand, and Jazz looked up at him, blinking in confusion.   
He still had stasis cuffs on, and promptly lost his balance and fell face-first into the dirt. 

Icy knelt, grasping the cuffs and snapping them in half.   
"Lieutenant Commander Jazz," he said calmly, looking down at the mech as he once again attempted to get up. "I know how this may look. But you have just been rescued from the enemy's vessel, and we are going to take you to the Autobots where you will be safe." 

Jazz managed to crawl onto his knees, looking up at Icy again. "How do I know I can even trust you?" He asked. "You don't have to trust us. But we know where the autobots are, and we have to hurry. Can you walk?" 

The white autobot stood up carefully, wobbling a bit but eventually steadying himself.   
"Ye, I can walk. "   
"Can you carry Sentinel?"   
Jazz looked at the large blue and gold mech, raising his brows. "I can try." 

Icy nodded, walking over to Ultra Magnus and heaving him up and onto his back.   
He headed out to find the Autobot base, Jazz in tow. 

***

There came a massive knock on the doors of the base that nearly made you jump out of your skin.   
Bulkhead took a peek, and immediately turned to you and Ratchet.   
"Uhhh... it's Icy....and Jazz...and the rest of the Elite Guard..." 

"Let them in," Ratchet grumbled. 

Bulkhead opened the doors, and Icy came in first, carrying Ultra Magnus.   
Jazz soon followed, Sentinel Prime slung over his shoulder. 

Ratchet pointed to the Med Bay. "In here," he said, leading the way, "let's get those cuffs off and get them laid down."   
You hurried after them, worried. You were so relieved that Icy was alive, and in one piece.   
But they had a massive burn on one side. You had noticed it when they passed by you. 

The mechs were laid on tables, and Ratchet began unlocking and removing their stasis cuffs.   
Prowl was still unconscious, but stable. And Optimus seemed to be sleeping.   
Ratchet was in the process of re-situating Sentinel when a groan echoed from Ultra Magnus's med slab. 

"Stay down there and please, for frags sake, be still," Ratchet pleaded with you, pointing to a subspace in the under a table.   
You numbly obeyed, sitting down and hugging your knees. 

***

Ultra Magnus didn't look too happy when he woke.  
He slowly sat up, cyan optics flickering over the room.   
They went from Ratchet, to Icy, to Jazz, and then Sentinel and the fallen autobots. 

"Where am I?" He demanded, "and where is my Hammer?"   
"You're at our Base, and your hammer is probably on your ship, wherever that is..." Ratchet responded, a slightly anxious note in his tone. 

"The bounty hunter attacked us. I don't remember anything after that. What's happened?? And why, by the mercy of Primus, is the Decepticon Prisoner standing before me?" 

Ratchet looked at Icy, shaking his head. "Perhaps you should ask him yourself...I wasn't there."   
Ultra Magnus scoffed. "I will not speak to a War Criminal." 

"Unless they are labeled an Autobot," Icy snapped, causing the mech to look at him. "Ah. He sees me." Icy continued, folding his arms. "I am here whether you like it or not. Und since I'm ze only one who was conscious and present during this whole ordeal, I will tell it to you. Unless you'd rather be kept in the dark." 

"Where are the experiments?!" Magnus immediately demanded.   
"What experiments?" Ratchet asked, but Magnus ignored the question.   
"You mean the Seeker Twins?" Icy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"The what??" Ratchet seemed shocked. 

"It's confidential!" Magnus barked. "Where are they?" 

"I do not know," Icy said truthfully. "They escaped Shockwaves ship with myself and your crew, but I do not know where they went. When we landed on Earth, they were gone. " 

"We were on Shockwaves vessel? How??" 

"Lockdown was paid by Shockwave to capture me, I'm presuming. But decided to take you all along for the ride. I found you all in containment chambers. Und with help, I was able to free you. The little twins didn't seem willing to assist you to be frankly honest." 

Magnus made a face at this remark, but shook his head. He muttered under his breath, and you noticed Icy clench his fists. "Why do they need to be reprogrammed?" He demanded. 

"Silence, Decepticon. " 

Before Icy could respond, Sentinel woke up.   
The hulking bot groaned, blinking and taking a moment to realize where he was before he leaped up.   
"What??? YOU!!! " He spat, pointing to the Autobots. He noticed Icy and growled, "why is THAT here?! " 

Ratchet looked miserable.   
"He saved you, Sentinel," he grumbled, and the mech turned to the medic. "That's SIR to you!" 

"I take it your crew is still not at it's best," Magnus continued, gesturing towards Prowl and Optimus.   
"I'm doing all I can, Sir..." Ratchet muttered.   
"Perhaps they should be sent to Cybertron, where they can recieve better care," Magnus said, and Ratchet grimaced. 

"With all due respect, Sir, I have been in the Medical Field since before the Fall of Cybertron. I'm perfectly capable of handling them. "   
"Did you just mouth off at Ultra Magnus?!" Sentinel barked, "you'd better sit down and shut up if you know what's best for you!!!" 

Once he'd had his outburst, Magnus continued.   
"Both you and your tech are primitive, Medic. They will recieve better care on planet. As soon as we locate our ship, we will have them transported. " 

"Shouldn't you be focusing on the bigger issue here?" Icy cut in, "perhaps the autobots wouldn't be IN danger if Shockwave-" "SILENCE DECEPTICON SCUM!" Sentinel shrieked, but Icy didn't care.   
Hothead shifted forward, and he jut a finger in Sentinels direction. 

"STILLE!!!" he growled. "Shockwave is a threat, one much greater zan US! And if you don't STOP him, zese attacks will continue!!!" 

Ultra Magnus rubbed his chin.   
"We will deal with Shockwave. However, we are arresting you and taking you to our ship. These autobots have no right to let you wander around like this. Jazz, give me your spare stasis cuffs." 

Jazz looked torn, and at first didn't respond. 

"Give him the cuffs, Jazz!" Sentinel barked. 

Jazz popped a panel and reached in, pulling out a handful of pairs of cuffs.   
Sentinel snatched them and moved towards Hothead, who shifted back to Icy. 

"Fine. Go ahead. But when Shockwave decided to tear apart you and your entire force, don't come crying to me." Icy calmly stated, to which Sentinel dealt him a heavy backhand.   
Icy licked the energon from his lip, grinning before head-slamming the shorter bot. 

Sentinel stumbled back before reaching to slam the cuffs onto Icy. "You'll regret that!!!" Sentinel spat.   
"This is a huge mistake you're making, Magnus," Ratchet growled, and the massive navy blue mech turned to him. "You're right. I should be arresting you all as well. Jazz, Sentinel, cuff them." 

Sentinel immediately went after Bee, who had been watching with Bulkhead by the door.   
"Yeeouch!" Bee yelped as the big bot slammed cuffs onto him. "Quiet, oil stain!" He snapped, cuffing Bulkhead as well. 

Jazz approached Ratchet, a frown set deep on his face. "Sorry, Doc..." He muttered, reaching the cuffs towards the old medic.   
Ratchet batted them away. "You can't just arrest us all and hope to solve your problems that way!" He growled. 

"You are in no position to give me orders. Sentinel, cuff these two," Magnus pointed to Prowl and Optimus.   
"They're harmless!!!" Ratchet exclaimed.   
Jazz slid the stasis cuffs onto him, continuing to apologise. 

Sentinel cuffed the unmoving bots, and Ratchet trembled with emotion. Most likely rage.   
"Your sparklessness knows no bounds..." He muttered at Magnus, who ignored him. 

"Sentinel, Jazz, come with me. We must locate our ship and deal with Shockwave. Bring the prisoner."   
Sentinel grabbed Icy by the arm and started tugging him out.   
"You'll never be able to defeat Shockwave alone!" Ratchet hissed after them as the medbay door slammed shut.


	16. Seeking Assistance

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Sechsehn

You slowly crawled out from your hiding spot, running to the doors. They wouldn't budge.   
You turned to Ratchet, "How do I get the cuffs off??" You asked. "They can only be unlocked by other Cybertronians, it's an energy field. Don't touch them." He grumbled. 

"Can you open this door??"   
Your heart was pounding. You had to go after Icy. 

"No, stasis cuffs make it impossible..."   
"I can." Bulkhead offered. You stepped back.   
He slammed a foot into the door, denting it out enough that you could slip through. 

You hurried over and squeezed through, turning back.   
"I'll come back for you!" You called, before running through the main room and through to the exit.   
You burst outside and looked around, not seeing the mechs anywhere. 

There were some scuffed footprints, however.   
And so you took off after them, desperately trying to hurry. 

Please let me find him. 

***

"He's never gonna be able to catch up to them..." Bulkhead said sadly, sitting down on the floor.   
"Least he can try... we're kinda stuck here." Bee replied, already huddled in a corner and lookin very sore with their situation already. 

"You okay, Doc?" Bulkhead questioned, noticing the silent but fuming medic.   
Ratchet looked up, barely, optics dull. "No. I am not okay. None of this is at ALL okay and I can't believe these idiots would do this. " 

The green autobot fell silent at this, nodding and staring at the floor.   
"Aren't we gonna try to break out??" Bee asked.   
"There's no point in that," Ratchet muttered, slowly sinking to the floor himself, farther away from them. 

"Then...what do we do??" Bee seemed confused at this lack of hope. 

"Absolutely nothing...." Ratchet whispered, mostly to himself. He was so tired of trying. Perhaps it was best to just give up. Shockwave would probably destroy the Elite Guard, and then come round to destroy all of the Autobots soon enough. 

May as well just accept it. 

***

You were lost. 

The tracks had ended, and you were deep in the forest with no light and no idea which way you'd come.  
Every time you thought you'd found it, you just realized you were even MORE lost. 

Eventually you couldn't take it anymore, and you slumped to the ground, tears filling your eyes.   
This is all my fault, you thought.   
Surely there was no way this was true, but you didn't care. 

Now everyone was probably going to die.   
And if you'd just never gotten involved with the situation at all, in the beginning, perhaps none of this would have happened. 

But then... Blitzwing may have died...  
It wasn't like he wasn't GOING to, with the way the Elite Guard were treating him. 

What if Shockwave went for him first?   
What if he was already dead?   
No, that couldn't be. You and he had a connection.   
You didn't feel any distress or pain through the connection, let alone feel it get cut off. 

You figured, if he was dead, you'd FEEL it. 

But even the thought made you curl into a ball and start to cry.   
You stayed that way for quite some time. It was still dark, and the night was still. 

All at once, the crickets stopped.   
The trees rustled from all around, making you sit up. 

You wiped your face, still sniffling, but now afraid.   
"Wh-who's there?" You choked out, heart thundering loudly in your chest.   
No response came. 

And then, the trees parted. 

A slightly familiar form moved forward, looking directly at you.   
Shit, what was his name?   
You recognized him as one of the Seekers from Megatron's ship. 

"S...Star...scream...?" You whispered, backing up. 

The mech hissed, tilting his head as he approached you.   
"Please, I-I don't know what you want but, I...I.." 

You were pinned against a tree now, your back pressed firmly against the rough bark as the bot in front of you kept moving.   
From the trees, more of them slipped forward. 

A slightly smaller one, who was copper and white and gold, sniffed the air and then moved up close to Starscream, saying something in a different language before turning to you. 

They reached out their hands, seeming to make themself look less intimidating.   
One that looked similar to them, but was blue instead of orange, hurried to their side. 

"No...need...fear..." The orange one spoke slowly, as if this was their first time using human words.   
"Am...Jetfire..." They pointed to the blue one, "This...he Jetstorm..." 

Your panic subsided a bit. 

"No hurt...you. " 

"I...I'm lost," you admitted timidly, "I...I was trying to find Blitzwing and the Elite Guard but I-"   
The two bots hissed, hunkering down a little.   
"Guard...bad..." Jetfire said. 

"But not...white one....he...kind..." Jetstorm added. 

"I-im sorry," you apologized, "I'm not trying to find them for the sake of it...but they took my Conjux...and I was trying to get him back..." 

The two exchanged a glance, and turned to Starscream. They babbled to him in their language, and the larger mech responded. 

After a few moments of this, they turned to you. 

"We...help...find...Conjux." Jetfire said.   
"O...okay, but first I... I need you to help my friends, they're locked up and I can't free them on my own... they're...autobots..." 

Starscream looked down at his own chest, which didn't have an insignia anymore, and then to the twins, who had bright autobot symbols on.   
He chittered at them, and they made noises in response. 

Jetfire nodded and turned back to you. "We...still help. Seekers not afraid of Autobot...."   
"You...climb on...?" Jetstorm asked, pointing to Starscream. You looked at the Seeker, raising your eyebrows. 

"I....um...really?" 

"Go FAST-fast," Jetfire pointed out, seeming pleased with themself. 

You nodded, slowly approaching Starscream.   
The mech hissed, side-eyeing you but allowing you to climb onto his shoulders. 

And almost immediately, the mech took off, speeding through the trees. 

***

The doors of the Base being forced open roused Ratchet from his depressed stupor.   
He heard hissing and a few clicks, and immediately stood up. "Bulkhead, Bee, get behind me!" He demanded, pacing over to the two and standing in front of them, at the entrance of the Medbay. 

"What's going on??" Bee asked, and Ratchet shushed him. "Something's coming, and it doesn't sound friendly..." 

The doors in front of him were suddenly pried open, and before him stood Y/N. With a gaggle of Seekers surrounding him. 

"Hey, Ratchet...." Y/N said "I brought help."


	17. Crash and Burn

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Seibzehn 

As the Seekers picked and prodded at the Stasis cuffs, Ratchet fixed you with a shocked stare.   
"How on Earth did you get them to help you?" He asked, sounding genuinely impressed despite his position. 

"I uh.... I just asked..." You mumbled, looking at Jetfire and Jetstorm. They nodded to you. 

"Uhhh wait a sec. Aren't those Seekers?? Why do they have Elite Guard stamps on them??" Bee asked, and you looked at him. "That's...actually a good question."   
You turned back to the Twins.   
"Can you answer that?" 

Jetfire looked at Jetstorm, and the two seemed to sigh.  
"We are....being experiments from the Elite Guard..."   
"Experiments?" Ratchet asked sharply, "so you're the plan B the Elite were talking about..." 

Jetstorm jumped in. "We are not...knowing much of situation...only that we are build for battlefield..."   
Ratchet's entire demeanor changed, and you could almost swear he resembled a concerned parent. 

"Have you kids...ever been on the battlefield...?" He asked rather gently. The stasis cuffs finally popped off, and he rubbed his wrists.   
The twins shook their heads. "Not...before tonight..." 

"Well, I don't think you're experiments at all. You're people, just like us." Ratchet said, the smallest smile on his face. "Now... you're injured. Let me take a look at those leg wounds..." 

***

The small Elite ship approached the massive, hulking frame of the Decepticon vessel.   
It was war-torn, and old, but still functional.   
Currently, it was sitting still. Unbeknownst to the Guard, Shockwave was still in the process of fixing the systems and patching up the damage Hothead had dealt. 

The weapons were online again, just barely, but the engines were still weak. There were spare fuel lines that Hothead hadn't managed to damage, but they weren't very full and they wouldn't get the mech very far. 

The approaching ship made the scanners ping, and the massive one eyed mech looked up.   
Slag. It was time to test the weapons...  
He typed some things into a system, and manually aimed the canons. The ship moved directly into the line of fire; and so he fired.

The Elite ship was rocked violently.   
"What was that?!" Sentinel demanded. "We are under fire!" Magnus responded, "ready our weapons systems!"   
"I can't do that, sir!" Jazz called from his station. 

"Why not?!" Sentinel responded. 

"The weapons systems have been damaged. Our weapons took a direct hit!"   
"Slag..." Magnus muttered.

The ship was rocked by another blast, causing red lights and alarms to start flashing.   
"We need backup, Magnus sir!" Jazz cried.   
"No we don't, we'll be fine!" Sentinel interjected. 

"Not if we keep getting hit like this!!" Jazz fought back.   
"Are you questioning authority?????"   
Jazz ignored Sentinel. They really did need backup, and he was sick of sitting by while these people made terrible decisions. 

Calling for reinforcements would take too long.   
He knew what to do.   
"I'm getting backup!" The white and silver mech concluded aloud, ducking out from his station and running to the back. 

"Get back here!!! Are you out of your slaggin mind???" Sentinel screamed, but the mech ignored it.   
He ducked into the escape pod room, rushing to a control panel and beginning to type on it. 

The back of the deck began to lower to allow for escape pods to exit.   
He hurried over to one of the escape pods, preparing to get in when a force shoved him back and onto the floor. 

The ship took a massive hit, creaking and tilting to one side as it flew.   
Sentinel pinned Jazz to the floor, glaring at him as the emergency sirens blared. 

"You're going to go back to your station at ONCE!" he hissed at Jazz, blue optics blazing in the red light.   
"We need backup! Or we're going to die, Sentinel!"   
"I said. Get back. To your station!!!! If we die, we die!!!" 

Jazz head-butted Sentinel, rolling him off and attempting to regain his footing.   
Sentinel crawled to his feet, standing between Jazz and the open escape exit. 

"Get out of my way, SP!" Jazz demanded, grasping onto the side of one of the pods.   
"Over my dead body!" Sentinel spat.   
Jazz ground his dentae, but had already made up his mind. 

"Have it your way, then." He ran back to the control panel, hitting the button to seal the exit.   
He leaped into a pod and closed it, firing it up.   
Sentinel, struggling to keep his footing due to the suction of the exit, slowly moved towards the pod. 

The exit began to close. 

The pod was ready.   
Jazz grasped a lever and slammed it forward, sending the pod speeding towards the exit.   
Sentinel stood in the way.   
Jazz didn't retreat. 

At the last possible moment, upon realizing Jazz wasn't going to stop, Sentinel dove out of the way, and Jazz made it through just before the exit doors slammed shut. 

***

Ratchet had finished tending to the twins' wounds, and the Seekers had finished removing everyone's stasis cuffs.   
The Seekers had been nervously hovering over the medic while he worked, seeming very protective over the Twins. 

Despite being slightly more optimistic, you were still really worried.   
Where was the Elite Guard? Was Blitzwing okay? 

The Seekers moved outside, skirting the building. 

You looked at the Autobots.   
"Okay...so...what's our plan? We can't just leave the Elite Guard to die out there...and we have to rescue Blitzwing." 

"I....honestly don't know what to do, Y/N..." Ratchet admitted helplessly, slowly sitting in his chair. "I'm not the decision maker, or the planner...That's..." He slowly looked over at Optimus on the table. "That's his area..."   
Your heart dropped a bit. 

You walked over to the medic, feeling your chest tightening. You cared for him dearly, just like the rest of the bots. And you hated seeing him give up like this.   
He always seemed so reluctant to give in, so stubborn. 

"Hey..." You said quietly, placing a hand on his knee.   
He looked down at you, blue eyes dim.   
"I know this is...alot to take in. Really. But...we aren't going to let you give up...You're really strong. And really brave. And I...I can't begin to imagine the things you've seen and felt in the past..." 

You swallowed the lump forming in your throat, trying to find the words to fit what you were attempting to convey.

"But...we need you, Ratchet.   
We want you with us. Because you're important to us...right?" You looked to Bee and Bulkhead. "Right!" "Yeah, of course!" The Twins offered a thumbs-up.   
"And you've done all you can for Prowl and for Optimus...it doesn't matter what those shitty people said.   
You've been a medic for decades I'm presuming. And you....you know what? You're...Ratchet, you're enough.   
For us...for everyone. You're enough. " 

The Medic seemed to process this information as you watched him.   
After a moment, you noticed something in his optic.   
A bead of moisture of some form welled in his eye and slowly rolled down the side of his face. 

Was he...crying???

His large hands took one of yours and squeezed it, and his eyes met yours.   
Before either of you could speak, a loud thump on the entry doors made you jump. 

"Stay back," Ratchet said, pushing you back and standing up. He made his way down the hall, and to the doors. "Who's there?" He growled.   
"It's Jazz! Open up, I'm not here to arrest you!" 

"And why should I?" 

"Please, Ratchet!" The autobot sounded desperate.   
The medic tapped on a control panel, and the doors opened, allowing the scuffed and scraped form of Jazz to burst in, panting. 

You hurried out to him, followed by the Autobots.   
The twins peeked out the doorway of the Medbay, but didn't come out. 

"Sorry to intrude, and I know that you're all upset at me. I can't blame y'all one bit. I know I slagged up. And I'm sorry. I didn't wanna cuff y'all. But the others need help.   
We found Shockwave, an he fragged up our ship, and they ain't gonna make it much longer out there alone." 

"How did you get here?" You asked, and he looked down at you. "I used an escape pod...They wouldn't listen when I said we needed backup and so I just left. " 

"Typical Sentinel," Bee grumbled, "His chin is bigger than his I.Q...."   
You held back a laugh, turning back to Jazz. 

"I knew backup from Cybertron would take too long, so I came to y'all. And I hoped...that y'all would help us somehow..."   
The bots and you all exchanged glances. 

"What should we do?" You asked. 

"We need a plan," Ratchet said, "and fast. Jazz, how many people can fit in your escape pod?"   
"Just the one."   
"And a human?"   
Jazz tilted his head. "I....yeah, I could make that work."

"Good. Jetfire, Jetstorm?" Ratchet turned, seeing them in the doorway. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.   
They made little whine noises.   
Jazz stepped up. "Hey... Hotshot, Stormy...."   
You presumed these were nicknames. 

He slowly approached them, outstretching his hands.   
Had they...learned that from him maybe?   
"I know you're prolly scared...and I'm no exception, right? I know it was really unfair how y'all was treated... and I'm sorry. I should have done somethin' about it...  
You don't have to forgive me, that's okay...but once we fix all this, you never gotta see the others again, okay? I'll figure it all out...you can trust me." 

The two exchanged a glance, and muttered to eachother in their language.   
They both inched forward, each reaching out a pinky finger. Jazz wrapped each of his own around theirs and shook them. 

The smaller bots both rushed forwards and clung to him, like scared children. Which, in this case, they technically were. 

"Y'all are gonna be safe... I'll make sure of it. I'll pull strings. I promise. Ya dig?"   
They nodded, and he pet their heads.   
"Alright...now, we gotta get these plans figured out ASAP, and we're gonna need y'alls help alright?" 

He led them over to the group. 

Ratchet let a half-smile grace his features before getting serious again.   
"Alright. Jetfire, Jetstorm, if you can fly, we'll need you to take us up to the Elite ship while Jazz and Y/N are a diversion. After we've arrived, Jazz and Y/N will need to go free Blitzwing, while the rest of us do our very best to fend off Shockwave..." 

Jazz nodded. "Got it." 

"Everyone understand?" Ratchet asked.   
A series of nods went around. 

"Let's get this shit done, then."   
Well if Ratchet says shit, then it's absolutely time, you thought as everyone headed out. 

You and Jazz weren't even to the pod yet when he put a hand out in front of you. "Slow up, look!!" He shouted.   
He pointed to the sky, where a small, flashing ball fell through the sky like a shooting star. 

"What is that??" You squinted. 

"That's gotta be Magnus and SP!" 

The autobots hurried over, Ratchet pushing through. "Was that them??" He demanded.   
Jazz nodded. "Yeah... must've been. We'll have to go on foot!" 

"No, take Y/N with you in the pod! It's safest there. We'll head towards where the ship landed. We'll meet you there!" Ratchet barked.   
"Roger that!" Jazz scooped you up and headed quickly towards the pod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the amazing comments and love. 
> 
> Also I can't take credit for the "IQ" joke about Sentinel. That is purely salty_limeade's talent.


	18. The Wreckage of Us

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Achtzehn

The pod slowed and landed in front of the smoking wreckage of the Elite ship.   
Jazz popped the roof of the pod, carefully lifting you out and setting you on the ground. 

You made a beeline for the ship, but he stopped you.   
"Y/N! Careful, let me make sure it's safe!"   
You reluctantly stopped, turning back to him.   
He carefully approached the ship, you following close behind. 

As he approached the exit door panel, something slammed against it from the inside.   
You jumped, and Jazz took a step back.   
"Easy, now..." His hand slowly moved to some sort of gun-like object on his hip. 

The door burst outwards, and Sentinel appeared; he was covered in debris, dirt, and pink smears.   
He disappeared back inside, and then returned dragging the form of Ultra Magnus. 

"SP! Is he okay??" Jazz asked, hurrying closer.   
Sentinel turned and glared at Jazz, spitting out what appeared to be a chip of his dentae.   
"Does he LOOK okay???" 

"Is he alive??"   
"I don't know, I'm not a fraggin medic!!!" 

As if on cue, you heard the autobots approaching.   
You turned to see them cresting the hill, and immediately, Ratchet saw Magnus. 

The medic rushed over, approaching Sentinel.   
"Let me see him," he said, already popping a panel and retrieving what looked like medical equipment.   
"How did you get out of your stasis cuffs??" Sentinel demanded, "keep away from the Magnus!" 

Ratchet growled audibly, jamming a finger at Sentinels face. "Listen to me, you bolt-brained half-wit! I am the only medic on this planet right now, and if you don't get OUT of my way, Magnus could DIE. MOVE!" 

Sentinel, eyes wide, actually moved out of his way.   
He turned and looked at the rest of the bots.   
"Where were YOU??" he demanded of the Twins, stomping towards them. 

The two of them shrank back, hissing and whining.   
Jazz immediately moved towards them, getting in between them and Sentinel.   
"Calm DOWN, SP!" 

"No! You nearly ran me over! And left us! During a fight that could have killed us! And YOU!" He jabbed a finger at the twins. "You both breached protocol! You'll regret that!!" 

"No, Sentinel!" Jazz argued. "You aren't touchin these boys. "   
"What are YOU gonna do?? Stop me? I'm YOUR commanding officer! You're going to do what I say. Now get out of my way!"   
Jazz grit his teeth. "Oh yeah? Why don't you tell them about why they were built? " 

Sentinel bared his teeth, attempting to shove past Jazz. Jazz shouldered him back, spreading his arms to protect the Twins.   
"Why don't you tell them about their files? Huh?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sentinel barked, throwing a punch at Jazz. Jazz ducked, but stood his ground.   
"You know exactly what I'm talkin about, SP! Tell them!!!" 

Sentinel took another punch at the white mech.   
Jazz pulled his gun, aiming it at Sentinel.   
"What're ya going to do, idiot?? Shoot me??" 

"I'm tempted to. And I will. If you don't tell them everything. DO it!!!"   
Sentinel glared at the mech as if he were the cause of every single problem he'd ever had. 

"Fine! You were built to fight in the war!"   
Jazz scoffed. "ALL of it! BeFORE that!"   
"You were made using the genetics of that Decepticon scum that Megatron employed! "

"And?" Jazz urged, gun still aimed. 

"You're going to be arrested for this, Jazz!" Sentinel spat. Jazz shot the ground next to Sentinels foot.   
"OW! You're CRAZY!" 

Jazz did not care.   
"Keep talkin, Sentinel," he warned.   
"Grrrr...fine! You were experiments! Used solely to test if we could use different genetics to get an upper hand on the Decepticons! " 

The Twins, still cowering, chittered amongst themselves for a moment, a few sad noises echoing out. 

"Tell em what their file says, Sentinel!"   
"You're just as much a part of this as I am!!!" Sentinel protested, "you can't stand there playing innocent!" 

Jazz grimaced.   
"That may be true. But I didn't START this. I was just given orders. By YOU. And MAGNUS. I wanted to treat them like PEOPLE. But you didn't even allow them to TALK! Because, oh, what did y'all say? Lemme think...  
Oh yeah. Cause y'all didn't want to have anyone sympathize wit' em, did ya? 

You just wanted to pretend they were specimens behind glass walls! Non-sentient objects for you to poke and prod and make obey your commands! Right?  
Right?? I watched you hurt these little seekers day in and day out! And sometimes, I didn't know what had even happened! That's why you didn't want em to speak! Because you didn't want them ever telling anyone! Isn't it?? 

Well, I taught them how to speak. And they told me EVERYTHING. How about you tell 'um what their file says, Sentinel?? Huh?? " 

"You're out of your god-damned mind, Jazz!" Sentinel hissed. Jazz actually cackled. A sound he'd never made before.   
"Oh don't try me, fool!" He shot again, this time grazing the mechs foot. 

"Ow!! What the-??! Slag!!" 

"Tell them what the file says!!!" 

Sentinel growled angrily, bunching his fists.   
"Tell them what their status is, SP!"   
"It..." The blue mech looked at the twins, backing up a few steps as he saw something on the horizon that no one else saw or noticed. 

"It...says 'expendable', alright?? I don't know why you're so into this!! They're just experiments!!" 

Jazz reached into his subspace and chucked a pair of cuffs at Sentinel. "Put 'em on. "   
"What?? No!!"   
"DO it!" 

Sentinel slowly lifted the cuffs, locking eyes with Jazz.   
He threw them at Jazz and then dove for his gun.   
A flurry of movement shook the ground, and in seconds the Twins were on him. 

They scratched and bit him as they held him down, optics bright and angry.   
"Get these things off me!!" Sentinel screeched.   
Jazz ducked under Jetfire and slapped cuffs onto the blue and gold mess on the ground. 

"Come here, it's okay," he said to the Twins, backing up and setting his gun on the ground beside him.   
The Twins slowly moved from Sentinel, hesitantly approaching Jazz. 

"It's okay...I know you're hurtin..."   
He made a low cooing sound, like something from the Seeker dialect, and they both immediately scurried over. They both hid against his frame, whimpering and crying.   
"Shhh, it's okay, I've got you...you're gonna be okay now..." 

"U-um..." Bee cut in from the background nervously, "not to intrude but... where's Y/N?" 

***

You had slipped away after the fight began, crawling onto the wrecked ship and stumbling down the halls in an attempt to find Blitzwing.   
"Blitzwing!!" You called, coughing as smoke swirled around you. "Blitzwing! Where are you??" 

You stumbled across a set of doors that had been dented open just enough that you could fit through.   
You squeezed through, coughing again.   
"Blitzwing??" You cried, squinting as the smoke stung your eyes.   
You turned a corner and saw a small room with glass shielding it. And inside, a large figure. 

Blitzwing!! 

You stumbled over to it, coughing hard.   
You were too small to even see the panel needed to unlock the cell, but you still tried.   
"Blitzwing! " You smacked the glass with your hands in a vain attempt to break it. 

The form inside slowly raised it's head. It was him.   
He must have been knocked unconscious by the crash.  
He slowly sat up, immediately approaching the glass.   
Your vision had begun to blur, and you felt nauseous. 

The smoke was getting to you. 

You sank to your knees, coughing and desperately trying to pound the glass open.   
As you began losing focus, you felt something next to you. "Y/N!" Bee cried, "it's okay! I'm here! I'll get him! You get out of here!" 

You could barely hear him over the ringing in your ears.   
But you slowly crawled back down the hall, barely having enough strength to crawl back through the doors. Just when it seemed as though you'd never make it, you felt the coolness of the night air on your face, and you tumbled out of the wreckage. 

"Y/N!" Ratchet exclaimed, scooping you up. 

From inside, Bee had finally managed to unlock the cell, and was half-guiding half-dragging Blitzwing from the ship.   
Blitzwing punched the dented doors the rest of the way open, and the two landed on the ground, covered in debris and soot. 

Icy had a screw-gag on, and thus couldn't speak.   
He was however, able to pick up Bee despite his cuffs, and bring him back to the other autobots, setting him carefully on the ground. 

You were finally able to breathe properly again, and you slowly blinked up at Ratchet.   
"You coulda suffocated in there, kid..." He murmured, shaking his head. "S-sorry..." You coughed. 

"I'm just glad you're alright. "   
He set you carefully on the grass and stood, moving over to Icy. "Here, let me get those..." He said, reaching for the taller mechs cuffs. Once he removed them, he reached for his face. 

Icy knelt, letting the medic remove the screw-gag. "Danke," Icy said softly.   
He turned his head and immediately got back up and headed over to you.   
"Liebe...are you alright?"   
You nodded, smiling sheepishly.   
"Are you?" 

He let out a small chuckle.   
"I am now." 

"Magnus is fine," Ratchet announced, "he's just unconscious. He'll wake soon enough. We should get him to cover before-" he was cut off by a loud noise echoing through the sky. 

"Oh, slag..." He muttered, looking up. 

You looked up as well, seeing a large aircraft with a blazing red light approaching in the distance.   
Oh, fuck. It was Shockwave. 

The bots barely had time to drag Ultra Magnus into the trees to hide him.   
"Let me outta these!!!" Sentinel demanded, tugging at his cuffs. Jazz ran over to him, gritting his teeth.   
"You and I can settle our differences later, but right now we gotta fight this thing, you dig??" 

"Fine, fine, just lemme go!"   
Jazz unlocked the cuffs. "We don't have weapons, we'll have to grab them from the ship!" He barked, turning and ducking into the wreckage. 

He returned quickly with a few weapons, running right past Sentinel and going to the Autobots.   
"Alright, Bulkhead, Bee, take these! " He tossed weapons to them. 

"B-but I don't know how to use this!" Bee cried.   
"Well, today's the day ya learn!" Jazz responded. "Ratchet, I know you're not a fighter, an that's okay! You need to be safe and on standby in case anyone gets hurt, aight? Keep Y/N with you! " 

Ratchet nodded, grabbing you and heading for the trees. 

"Jetfire, Jetstorm, all you gotta do is distract Shockwave, aight? You don't have to use weapons."   
Jetfire and Jetstorm exchanged a glance.   
Jetfire stepped forward. "It...okay, Jazz...We...made to fight..." Jazz shook his head. 

"No, I don't want y'all gettin hurt!" 

Jetstorm placed a hand on the mech's face.   
"Be alright..." He nodded confidently, and Jazz sighed.   
"Okay...just be careful..." The two nodded and hurried away. 

"Sentinel, ya pissed, right? "   
Sentinel growled, arms folded. "OH you have NO idea..."   
Jazz nodded, tossing him a simple laser gun.   
"Good. Use that anger to kick this Decepticons skidplate. Blitzwing?" 

Icy turned to look at Jazz.   
"Your weapons work, right?" He nodded.   
"Good. You gotta get up there and make sure he lands, okay? Ground him if you can! " Icy nodded, stepping back. 

"Icy!" You cried.   
He spun to look at you in the trees. You hurried forward before Ratchet could stop you.   
Icy rushed to you, kneeling down.   
"Liebe you must stay hidden with Ratchet. I don't want you hurt." 

"I-I know, I just...I just wanted to say that I love you! And...please...come back to me this time..."   
Tears filled your eyes. Icy gently grasped your face, leaning down and planting his lips over yours before pulling back. 

"I will always return to you, liebe." And with that, he stood and ran back out into the clearing, transforming and taking to the skies.


	19. Sacrifices Must Be Made

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Neunzehn 

Shockwave began firing from the sky, aiming for Jazz and Sentinel first.   
Icy flew over the mech, commanding fire.   
Jetfire and Jetstorm swiftly flew in, flanking the aircraft and firing on him. 

Shockwave spun, firing back at them.   
The twins dodged, spiraling into the air before descending on him again. 

The battle raged for a few moments, as no one seemed to gain the upper hand.   
Icy instructed the twins, via Seeker dialect, to lure the mech out of his alt mode. 

The Twins obeyed, beginning the task by firing at his wings. They transformed, each grabbing a wing and pulling on it. Shockwave growled loudly, his upper body being forced to transform to prevent serious damage. 

At that moment, Icy fired at a spot under his midriff armor, and the mech screeched.   
Shockwave transformed the rest of the way, falling towards the ground quickly. 

Icy transformed and jumped onto him, sending them both crashing into the dirt.   
Shockwave flung the triple changer off, grunting loudly.   
He attempted to transform, but could not. 

"You've destroyed my transformation cog!!" He exclaimed, heaving himself to his feet.   
Icy rolled and got up, glaring at the mech.   
"And I'll destroy alot more..." 

The Twins transformed and landed, flanking the massive purple mech at a safe distance. Shockwave was surrounded.   
His red eye flickered between all the bots, weighing his options. He raised his arm and it transformed into a gun, which he fired at Icy. 

Icy ducked, letting Random forward.   
The mech ducked Shockwaves attack and twisted around him, kicking him in the back.   
The mech stumbled forward, receiving a shot from the weapon Bee haphazardly held in his hands. 

Shockwave glared at the little bot, charging forward and kicking him into a tree.   
"Ey! Cyclops! Over here!" Jazz barked.   
The massive con twisted his head around to see the mech, who was charging at him with a pair of what appeared to be glowing nunchucks in his fists. 

He landed on Shockwaves chest and threw himself upwards, wrapping the chucks around the mech's throat. Shockwave staggered, and Random called out to Jazz. "MIND HIS ARMS!" He cried. 

Jazz ducked just as the mech's claws slammed down.   
Shockwave caught hold of Jazz by the leg and pulled him loose, transforming his arm back into a hand and grabbing his other leg. 

"I am going to tear you apart!!" Shockwave exclaimed, beginning to pull the Autobots legs.   
Jazz grunted, attempting to squirm out his grasp.   
A rapid succession of bullets struck the massive con in the arm, and as he turned to see who had shot him, Jetstorm flew forward and grabbed his arm, digging his claws into it. 

The rain of bullets he and Jetfire had aimed at the arm had weakened it at the elbow joint, and made it quite easy for the blue and silver seeker to tear the arm completely loose. 

Shockwave screeched, dropping Jazz and slapping Jetstorm with the claws on his left hand.   
Jetstorm whined, but was mostly unharmed.   
He scrabbled back to the safety of Jetfire. 

Ratchet, during the fight, had hurried to Bee and dragged him out of the way, checking to see if he was conscious. He was, but wasn't fit to continue fighting.   
Bulkhead had split off from the fight to join Ratchet, and the medic wasn't complaining. He knew Bulkhead just wasn't a fighter. Besides, he would need help if more bots were hit. 

Random leaped onto the mechs back, biting into the back of his neck and refusing to let go.   
Shockwave couldn't shake him loose, so he instead grasped one of the canons attached to Random's back and wrenched. 

Random finally let go, hissing in pain. Shockwave hurled him over his shoulder, ripping the canon loose and sending Random crashing to the ground.   
The mech slowly got back onto all four feet, energon leaking from his new wound. 

He leaped at Shockwave, and the Con struck him across the face with his own canon.   
Random regained his balance and turned to the trees, letting out a loud howl-like sound from somewhere deep inside his chest. 

"What is that supposed to do??" Shockwave laughed, stomping towards the triple changer.   
Random turned to him, arching his back. "Zis." 

Suddenly, blurry forms flew from the trees, and all attacked Shockwave at once.   
Eight Seekers began tearing at his armor and slashing at him with sharp talons, and the confused mech stumbled before falling down. 

He rolled a few times, attempting to crush them underneath his weight.   
When that failed, he booted up his thrusters, flying a few feet into the air before shutting them off. 

Right before he hit the ground, the Seekers broke away, transforming into jets and dispersing.   
Shockwave crashed to the ground, accidentally slamming his wounded arm against the dirt.   
He exclaimed sharply, rolling and attempting to stand. 

The Seekers began their arial assault; they got into formation and began firing on his back, keeping him mostly pinned. The Autobots backed off to let them fight. 

Ultra Magnus slowly woke, the sound of gunfire feeling very familiar to his audials.   
Was he in the war again?   
He slowly sat up, spotting the Autobots and that organic from long ago. He grunted, noticing Ratchet. 

"Medic...what is the meaning of this?"   
Ratchet turned, seeing him and grumbling quietly.   
"Stay down, Sir, there's a battle out there."   
"Shockwave?" Magnus inquired, and Ratchet nodded. 

"Out of my way, I will not cower!" The massive mech pushed Ratchet aside, breaking through the treeline and looking up. He blinked in confusion as he watched the Seekers raining fire down upon Shockwave. 

Ratchet broke through the trees, "Back off, the Seekers have it under control!!!" He shouted, but the Magnus didn't listen. He saw Bee's abandoned gun not too far away, and ducked to grab it. 

Before Ratchet could stop him, he fired at the Seekers.   
The shots hit two Seekers, and the group veered off into the trees.   
"What are you DOING??? They were HELPING!!" Ratchet screamed. 

Magnus ignored him, charging at Shockwave and firing the gun. Shockwave, despite being heavily weakened, batted it away and punched the bot down.   
"Wrong move, old man!" He hissed, arching his claws and preparing to punch them down through the Magnus' spark chamber. 

Sentinel leaped onto Shockwaves back, yelling angrily.   
Shockwave staggered, twisting and backing up.   
He slammed himself into the trees, knocking Sentinel off and grabbing his weapon.   
He turned, spotting Ratchet. 

He aimed the large gun at him, eye narrowing as he pulled the trigger.   
Random slammed into the medic, knocking him out of the way. The blast from Shockwaves weapon came into contact with Random's leg, splitting it off at the knee. 

Random yelped in pain, splayed out on his side.   
Shockwave limped over to him, pressing the gun to his chest. Before he could pull the trigger, something made him arch up, gasping in pain. 

Random reared up and kicked him backwards, noticing his liebe standing there, a large, bloodied tree limb in his hands.   
He'd stabbed the mech in a wound the Seekers had created. 

There was fire in his humans eyes. And he noted it.   
But his human was no match for Shockwave.   
The one eyed con reached up to bat the human to the ground, but Ratchet leaped into the way. 

"Try it, you rusting heap of warpage!" The medic spat, panting. Shockwave cackled. "How endearing," he replied. Random crashed into him, and the two tumbled off into the trees, smashing and splitting them as they went. 

Cries of anger and pain echoed through the dawn, coming from both cons as they battled feverishly.   
Random transformed into a jet and attempted to get some distance, but Shockwave lunged at him, dragging him down. 

He crashed, rolling a few feet away.   
It was hard to get up. Shockwave had done a number on him. Shockwave leaped onto him, locking his one arm around his throat. 

Random dug his claws into the mech's shoulders, attempting to push him off.   
Crimson optics met a singular optic, and hatred passed from one to the other.   
"It did not have to end this way, Blitzwing..." Shockwave hissed, tightening his grip. 

The energon supply to Random's helm was slowly being cut off, and his optics began to glitch.   
His vision impaired, all he could do was focus on fighting back. 

He heard mechs approaching   
"Stop!" A voice cried. It was his human.   
And Ratchet, who was now holding a gun.   
Shockwave hissed, dragging Random up into a headlock. "If you shoot me, you shoot him," he spat. 

Random was too weak to fight him off.   
He locked eyes with Ratchet. 'Do it' he mouthed.   
The medic was trembling. His eyes were full of fear, and his grip on the gun was unsteady.   
Random choked as Shockwave tightened his grip. 

"What are you waiting for, medic? Go on. Shoot us. "   
Shockwave sounded nervous, but seemed to try to hide it under confidence.   
Random nodded to Ratchet. His human was crying. He could tell. But, no matter how hard he'd promised to live for him, sacrifices had to be made. 

Ratchet himself appeared to be in tears, and he raised his shaking arms to point the gun directly at Random's chest.   
Random met his eyes again calmly, and the medic slowly opened his mouth. 

"I'm...so sorry..." He whispered. 

And then he fired.


	20. Our Only One

Note: None of the events in this story are real. It is fictitious and I in no way am willing it to happen to anyone mentioned in the story.  
-WAC

Zwanzig 

A loud cry rang out and Shockwave stumbled back, releasing Random and slamming back into a tree.   
Ratchet had aimed for the Cons neck at the last second, narrowly missing Random's head. 

Random wasted no time.   
He ducked and leaped at Ratchet, grabbing the gun from his shaking hands and turning back to Shockwave. The Con leaped onto him, and they rolled until Random was on top. 

Shockwave grabbed the triple changers throat, and Random slammed the gun up against his spark chamber. They locked eyes for a moment.   
And then he pulled the trigger.   
The blast cored out Shockwaves chest, obliterating most of his spark and energon lines. 

In his last few moments of life, he jammed his claws into Random's chest, piercing his spark.   
Random yelped, optics widening.   
Shockwave eventually gave up on the fleeting seconds of life, and his claws slipped loose as he crashed to the ground. 

Random stumbled back, looking down at his human and at Ratchet.   
"You...saved my life..." He muttered, blinking at Ratchet in surprise.   
And then he collapsed onto his side. He dragged himself closer to his human, reaching out his claws as if to touch him. 

And then he lost consciousness. 

***

Ratchet immediately began working on Random, reassuring you that he was alive.   
The autobots broke through the smashed treeline, relieved to see Ratchet and you.   
Before anyone could say anything else, Sentinel and Magnus came into the picture. 

You immediately felt rage building up inside you.   
You walked towards them, on shaking legs.   
"YOU!" you yelled, pointing at the two. 

"What the hell is wrong with you???"   
Sentinel backed up, but opened his mouth to speak.   
"How dare you speak to us that way, you insignificant-"   
"STILLE!!" you yelled. You had no idea what it meant but Icy had used it earlier on and it seemed to work. 

"You pointed fingers at my Autobots telling them to choose which side they're on! But YOU'RE the ones who need to pick a side!!!   
You SHOT DOWN our Seekers!!! You ARRESTED an innocent man! And you didn't even fight Shockwave!!! All you did was get in the way!" 

Magnus took a step forward, preparing to speak.   
"SAVE IT!!" you screamed. You had no idea why they hadn't punted you aside yet but you didn't care.   
"You're apparently some, fancy Guard of the Galaxies or something but you SUCK! I can't believe Icy even CALLED on you!!! Because all you've done so far is SCREW EVERYTHING UP!!! We don't NEED you! " 

Sentinel bunched his fists.   
"I will not have the Magnus talked down on by some impudent little worm!"   
You looked at him, chest burning with anger.   
"Then come and shut me up, you half-brained slug!  
I'm not afraid of you! No one, should be afraid of you!   
You're a JOKE! And DON'T get me started on the Twins! 

I know what you did! What all of you did! And I will NEVER forget it!!! The next time I see your faces, you'd better hope I'm in a cage! Because I may be small, but I will kick your asses so hard you'll be reporting from NIRVANA!!!" 

An odd silence filled the air. 

You were panting. You turned, flipping them off and walking back over to the Autobots.   
Bee gave you a high five, but instead you just hugged him and tried not to cry. 

Magnus cleared his throat.   
"Step away from the criminal, Medic."   
Ratchet stopped working.   
He slowly got to his feet and looked to the Guard. 

"Let me tell you something, Ultra Magnus," he growled, fingers clenching around the wrench he held in one hand. "I may have had my doubts about this Decepticon...but I've never met one who would sacrifice his life for me TWICE...So if you're gonna arrest him.... you'll have to arrest me FIRST..." 

Magnus nodded and looked to Jazz.   
"Jazz. Arrest this unruly medic."   
Jazz came forward, but didn't respond. He stood beside Ratchet, folding his arms. 

"Do what he says!!!" Sentinel barked.   
"Fraid I can't do that, Sir." Jazz said to Magnus.   
Sentinel turned to the Twins, who were huddled against the trees.   
"YOU TWO! Get over here and arrest these criminals! Now!!!" 

Jetfire and Jetstorm slowly stepped closer, whining.  
You could see that their fists were clenched.   
Jetstorm reached out, and Jetfire took his hand.   
"We are relieving of our duty." He said boldly. 

"You can't just QUIT! You belong to us!!!" Sentinel spat. 

"No." Jetfire replied. "We are belonging to ourselves." 

Sentinel stomped forward, approaching them.   
Before he could come any closer, the Seekers melted through the trees, surrounding the Twins.   
Starscream hissed menacingly at Sentinel, and the coward scurried back to Ultra Magnus's side. 

"Belong...with...us..." Starscream slowly said, as if fighting with each word. 

The Guard were outnumbered.   
Magnus finally spoke. "Have it your way. However, the next time we see any of you, there will be consequences. Enjoy your freedom while you can." 

They backed off, heading back through the trees.   
Sentinel, apparently wanting the last word, turned around and charged directly at the Seekers.   
He threw a punch at Starscream, and Jetfire hissed, reaching forward and slashing his claws across the mech's eye. 

Sentinel stumbled back, screaming angrily.   
Jazz seemed to just materialize out of nowhere, and hit the mech so hard he fell backwards a good few feet.   
Shaking his hand, Jazz whistled. "I can't tell y'all how much I've been wantin to do that..." 

"ENOUGH! Magnus bellowed. Sentinel, come with me. That is an ORDER. There's been enough insubordination today."   
Sentinel hissed at the group. "I'll be back for you!" He growled, scrambling back to Magnus and disappearing. 

"Like to see him try..." Jazz muttered. "How's 'Wing, doc?"   
Ratchet rubbed his forehead. "He's alive. But unconscious. He's gonna make it. We gotta get him back to base and hook him up with an energon transfusion, though." 

Jazz looked at the Seekers.   
"Will you help us get him home?" 

***

The sun was casting gold across the pink sky when you all finally got back to the base.   
Random got hooked up with an energon transfusion, and Ratchet began tending to everyone's wounds. 

When the Seekers were all set, they filed outside, Jetfire and Jetstorm following.   
Jazz hurried out as well.   
"Hey... y'all goin with em, huh?" 

Jetfire nodded, blinking.   
Jazz sighed, pulling both Twins into his arms.   
"Listen, y'all...You know my code. Anytime you ever need me, I'm just a comm away. No matter where you are. I'll always be with you." 

The two made happy purring sounds before pulling back. Jazz looked at Starscream, who stepped forward and looked down at him.   
"Ey...make some good Seekers out of em, ya dig?"   
Starscream bowed his head in acknowledgement, and then, with the Twins, the Seekers slowly dispersed into the sun-kissed trees. 

"So, Jazz...er, um, Sir..." Bee started, "what are you gonna do now?"   
Jazz turned, looking at him. "It's jus' Jazz. And I don't know yet. Probably get to know the world, you feel?   
I've always loved Earth. And now I get to see it. " 

"Sounds like a plan." Ratchet stood in the doorway.   
"If you ever need us, you know where to look."   
Jazz smiled. "That I do. And lemme know when Prowl wakes up, ey? Been stellar cycles since I've seen that Cyberninja. We've got some trainin to do." 

Ratchet shook his head.   
"Oh, no ya don't. He's not gonna be doing anything but resting for a long time."   
Jazz chuckled, "I can live with that. " 

He turned, heading towards the road that led out to the highway a few miles away.   
"Oh yeah," he said, turning again. "When he wakes up, tell 'Wing I said thanks. We owe him one." 

Ratchet saluted him, nodding. "Can do, Soldier. "   
Jazz saluted back, and then transformed, heading off down the road. 

You headed back in to the Medbay, crawling up into the slab beside Random. You wanted to be there when he woke. 

***

"Ratchet! His transfusion is complete!" You called out.   
It had been about three hours since Random was brought back to medbay.   
Ratchet hurried in, coming over and beginning to unscrew the tubes attached to the mechs chest and neck. 

As he worked, you looked up at him.   
"Hey, Ratchet? "   
"Hmm?" 

"Back out there...when he told you to...to shoot him...why...didn't you?"   
Ratchet paused, setting the tubes aside and looking down at you.   
"I..." He looked down, rubbing his forehead. 

He pulled a chair over and carefully sat down, grimacing.   
"I saw in his eyes...that he was willing to sacrifice himself for us all...And he'd already saved my aft from getting blasted into pieces.   
I guess I just...didn't have the spark to hurt him. " 

You felt your eyes welling up with tears.   
"Ratchet..."   
The medic jumped slightly, looking down at Random.   
You leaned to see what he was looking at. 

Random's paw had slid onto the medics hand.   
You both looked at Random. He slowly morphed to Icy, grimacing slightly.   
Crimson optics fluttered open, and he looked at Ratchet. 

"You were worth risking my life for, little cadet..."   
Ratchet seemed to understand whatever little cadet meant, because he made a face and blinked a few times.   
"Why did you...take the gun from me?" He asked, voice quivering a bit. 

"Because I knew you'd never forgive yourself if you had to kill anyone. Even Shockwave. "   
Ratchet nodded, a tear rolling down his face.   
He cleared his throat. "Well, then. I'll let you and Y/N talk. If you need me just holler." 

He stood, casually brushing his hand over his face and turning to leave.   
At the doorway, Icy called out to him.   
"Ratchet..? "   
The medic turned.   
"Thank you for giving us another chance." 

Ratchet smiled genuinely, nodding before walking out and closing the Medbay doors. 

Icy turned and looked down at you, a smile spreading across his face. "I told you we'd come back to you, liebe..."   
"You gave dying your best shot, though!" You said, gently punching his shoulder.   
He chuckled. "True, true...But we're here now. And we're not leaving you ever again. " 

"Scout's honor?" You asked, lifting a pinky.   
He chuckled again, smiling wider.   
He reached out, wincing a little, and locked his pinky around yours. "Scout's honor." 

You curled up against him, gazing up at his beautiful face. You were exhausted, and you knew you'd pass out eventually.   
"Hey, Icy? "   
"Ja, liebe?"   
"What was that thing you said to me, before you and Ratchet left? With Lockdown?" 

He smiled. "I said, 'You are our only one.' "   
Your heart swelled, and you hugged against him tighter.  
"I love you so much," you murmured. "And we love you," he responded, a low purr reverberating through his chest. 

You closed your eyes, and the gentle beeps of the monitors slowly lulled you to sleep.


	21. Authors Notes

Hey everyone. 

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for the support on this series.   
I began writing this because I never saw any x readers involving trans people, especially trans men, and trans men not on hormones or with a penis and surgery at that. 

I wanted to write what I never saw.   
So that somewhere out there, others like me could feel represented in fiction. 

I've been on this series for almost two years now, and if people hadn't shown such interest and fervor over it, I wouldn't have ever finished it. 

Not in a way that mattered, anyway. 

So thank you. To each and every one of you that left kudos, a comment, or simply favorited my work.   
You're the community I lost years ago. And the one i desperately needed. Especially to get me through this year we've had. 

I'm probably going to take a break for a little bit, as hard as that will be, maybe make some short one shots. And then, come next year, I'll be back on my grind with the third installment to this series! 

Special thanks to salty_limeade.   
You're a real one. 

Warmest regards to you all. 

-WAC-


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